


A Pair of Social Butterflies

by EpsilonArchadia



Category: Persona Series
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-17
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-01-01 19:20:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 43,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1047633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpsilonArchadia/pseuds/EpsilonArchadia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post P4A, slightly altered timeline as of P4A2's announcement. Amagi has left a marked impression on the Kirijo heiress, moving her to pay a few more visits to Inaba. While the Shadow Operatives are only vaguely aware this is happening, the rest of the Investigation Team aren't quite sure what to make of it; they'll see where this goes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Inaban Review

It wasn’t unusual to want someone’s safety so badly, was it?

Mitsuru always had that protective, motherly attitude to those around her age and younger, and here it was surfacing once again in lieu of the events in Inaba. Lips coloured dark red like the owner’s hair and eyes curled downwards as Mitsuru attempted to make sense of this other emotion that swirled up in the middle of her usual defensiveness around others. It was awfully distracting when she had a huge pile of paperwork for the Kirijo Group to sift through, a fact that she grumbled about relatively aloud. It _had_ to derive from one of the Investigation Team that she had met, though they all collectively plotted to get involved in Shadow related incidents despite Mitsuru asking them distinctly not to.

_The quicker she narrowed down what caused this surplus emotion to stem from her soul, the quicker she could just get back to work._ The redhead tossed the papers lightly onto her desk, sighed and leaned back into her leather office chair, closing her eyes and imagining all the potential culprits one at a time.

There was that detective—Shirogane, wasn’t it? Small, spry, a little eccentric but with a strange charm and she was ever familiar of poor Minato who passed in saving the world. Naoto was a valuable ally with her skills as a detective far beyond what constituted 80% of Japan’s entire police force, but Mitsuru simply put that down to her lineage (was Minato related? She had to ask) and her Persona adding to her basic senses. Nothing else came to mind, and thus Mitsuru moved onto someone else.

Kanji Tatsumi was an unrefined brute to fight, but he concealed a gentle heart within despite not knowing what to do with it. She chuckled gently, remembering that someone had let slip his incredible gift with the sowing needle, mentally noting an appointment with Tatsumi Textiles just to see what he could create. He reminded her of Akihiko to look at, but Shinjiro more so with his attitude of a tough exterior with a creative talent that he was loathe to show to just anyone. For the amusing paradox that Kanji offered, he wasn’t the one that stirred that little extra something within Mitsuru.

Rise Kujikawa advertised one of her products if she remembered correctly, but asides from that, the teenager radiated that kind of charisma that only idols would have. She drew people to her, and Mitsuru admitted that she too was pulled in briefly. The girl was remarkably mature, reminding her of her own attitude to life, but Rise knew how to deal with people in a way Mitsuru was very much jealous of. The lack of combat ability made her comparable to Fuuka, although the Kirijo CEO noted that Fuuka’s Juno had that advantage over Himiko in being able to pinpoint weaknesses ahead of the party simply hitting it and seeing what stuck.

She moved on, imagining Yu and Yosuke. The two were inseparable, friends of such intensity that she had to question the platonic aspect of it. They were hardy young men who had matured during the murders in Inaba, with a real sense of leadership about them. Yu had overtones of Minato about him, yet not quite the same, in that Mitsuru didn’t feel nearly as drawn to him unlike Minato. Yosuke gave off the impression that he was very much like Junpei, but with a greater sense of leadership. Mitsuru frowned; neither of them gave off that single, troubling feeling that was both a little exciting but caused considerable anxiety. She moved on.

Chie Satonaka idolised Akihiko now, she noted and chuckled accordingly. It was bound to happen, from the looks of things; Chie’s fascination with kung-fu movies and her predilection for hand-to-hand combat would only draw her to the all-time greatest Gekkoukan boxer who would only climb in the world fighter rankings. Nevertheless, though Mitsuru respected Chie for her ability (and found her amusing in flustering Akihiko by calling him ‘Master’), she felt a distinct air of enmity directed at her by the fiery brunette. Something vaguely reminiscent of her early days knowing Yukari, but this seemed more personal than the sins of their fathers. Perhaps it was to do with…

Oh. It most certainly was to do with Mitsuru Kirijo, in her business with Yukiko Amagi. Those clear eyes full of focus and determination from their first meeting in the TV World suddenly manifested within her thoughts.

And almost as soon as that happened, that strange feeling surged forth like a freight train at full speed, knotting her stomach and kicking her heart rate up a little. So it was the Amagi Inn’s daughter after all. Mitsuru sat up, hands on the black marble desk currently covered in documents pertaining to stocks and children companies within the great Kirijo conglomerate. The Amagi Inn refused purchase from the Kirijo, even affiliation was out of the question, the stubbornness in the manager seemed to have been inherited by her daughter who exhibited it too. She had a terrifying temper if moved to such anger, but otherwise had an elegant and tranquil air like nature at its most dramatic—a vast sea that could rise into a tsunami, a towering snow-capped mountain that could throw tonnes of the stuff if shaken (and Mitsuru recalled the name and birthdate: ‘Yukiko’ the Snow Princess, born in December, how appropriate) -- whose only disturbance to that noble façade would be a giggle fit that made her seem more like her age of 18.

Thankfully Yukiko never had any reason to present that violent anger however seldom it was to Mitsuru, being courteous and polite in their dealings. The emotion within the Kirijo CEO groaned, and her heart seemed to tug down when she recalled how her messages to Yukiko weren’t answered.

“I have… I have _work_ to do,” she suddenly muttered aloud “I can’t afford to get muddled in feelings right now.”

Sourly, Mitsuru returned to reading through the papers on her desk.


	2. Sleuthing Around

Naoto had gotten a call from Yukiko about these strange men coming by in limos and leaving her letters, and she begged the young detective to investigate on her behalf, worried that there could be several Mitsuo Kubos in the making. The initial deduction Naoto had made caused her to roll her eyes at Yukiko’s sudden anxiety, but for her friend’s sake she would go over and sound out the problem.

Arriving at the Amagi Inn, the detective tipped her hat to Mrs Amagi working at the desk “Good evening Amagi-san. Is your daughter around? She asked me by to help her out with… er, something.”

“She wanted you to figure out why these men are suddenly appearing at our inn you mean?” the middle-aged manager countered, a wry smile on her face. Naoto tugged the peak of her cap down and cleared her throat “Ah, um, indeed. Is she here?”

“Yes, she’s in her room right now. If you need to, you can stay a night while you get to the bottom of this.”

“That shouldn’t be required, but the offer is much appreciated, thank you.” Naoto bowed her head and hurriedly made her way to Yukiko’s room, glad to have gotten away from the ever-watchful Amagi manager. Knocking rhythmically on Yukiko’s door, once, twice—she would have for a third time but found her closed fist hanging expectantly in the air as Yukiko yanked it open with a relieved look on her face “Oh, great! Hi there Naoto-kun. C’mon in.”

“Uh,” Naoto mumbled, a little hesitant to jump straight in. The only other room she had been in was Rise’s, and that had ended… interestingly. She blushed a little when she found her ever active mind going back to that moment, not realising Yukiko had already tugged her in.

“So, do you wanna see the letters?” Yukiko asked, already ambling to her desk where a grand total of at least 9 letters lay. Naoto shook the memory of Rise lying back on her bed with that feline smile on her face from her head and nodded mutely. The black-haired girl scooped them up and handed them to her “Take a seat! You might need it. We’re not gonna get this all solved in a few minutes I assume.”

Naoto acted on her suggestion, sitting down at her desk and frowning “Did you even open these?”

“I, uh, I opened maybe two of them, and they had the same stuff in it. I figured they’d just have more of the same too.”

The detective muttered “Yukiko,” under her breath somewhat disparagingly as she opened each one, plucking the letters out and scanning them a few times to make sure nothing was missed. Each contained a poetic quote, a very romantic one at that. There was also something in French under each quote that was lost on Naoto, and the signatory was writing in Latin lettering judging by the initials ‘M.K’.

“…Well the quotes do change between each letter, as do the French blurbs underneath them. But did you not examine these more carefully? I think it’s quite obvious who the true sender is.”

Yukiko’s shoulders sagged as she stared blankly at the azure-haired girl “Is it? I just freaked out a little when I saw ‘M.K’, and that there was different guys handing me these letters.”

Naoto could have set her alight with the irritated glare she shot over, thin lips pressing together to hold back a nasty snap “Your mother did tell you that they all arrived in limos, correct?”

“Yeah, I guess I keep forgetting that part. How many rich guys want a shot at the Amagi Challenge anyway?” she weakly joked with a half-hearted shrug. The detective pinched the bridge of her nose “Yukiko-senpai, I think you’re missing a very important part of all of this.”

The look that the heir of the Inn gave Naoto urged her on “The evidence is as follows: several men are leaving you letters, arriving in limos. However these letters are all addressed from an ‘M.K’, and feature some romantic literary quotes as well as snippets of French. You had an… experience with someone of these initials named Mitsuo Kubo, but I think it’s quite safe to assume that he didn’t suddenly learn French in prison nor have the kind of money to send out men in limos to deliver mere lovelorn letters.”

“So that’s him out of the running,” Yukiko sighed with relief, sitting on her bed and throwing herself back “Thank goodness.”

“But there is someone else we know who fits this profile—who else has this knowledge of French, as well as awareness of some of these quotes? Someone very learned, and very wealthy, that’s who. And the only person who fits this bill is Mitsuru Kirijo. In fact I think I spotted the Kirijo name in one of these letters,” Naoto muttered, flicking through the pages and trailing her finger down to the exact kanji, letting out a small noise of affirmation. “Ah, there we go; so as you can see—“

She turned to face Yukiko, who was sitting up this time with a look of complete shock on her face. Antsy hands fidgeted with the yellow material of her uniform that she still wore, dark grey eyes locked on Naoto’s blues. “Are you alright?” she asked, quirking her brow.

“How else am I meant to react when pretty much the most powerful woman in Japan’s been sending me _love letters_!?” Yukiko snapped, her expression growing softer afterwards “Uh… sorry Naoto. I just think this is all a little much to take in.”

“That’s fine, I understand your incredulity,” she replied quietly, idly leafing through the letters again “I suppose the only way you can really get her to stop is to acknowledge you’ve received them, though that brings its own problems, since she will probably wish to meet you in person and talk it over.”

“Do you think she’s still trying to buy the Inn?”

“This goes far beyond mere business. She’s more interested in you alone,” Naoto began, narrowing her eyes over the Kirijo kanji again “Call it a hunch.”

“A detective’s hunch, huh…” Yukiko murmured thoughtfully, eyes glazed over wistfully as she stared into space. Naoto thought to add something, but held back, allowing the Amagi girl to get lost in a daydream about what could happen next.

“Yukiko,” she ventured after a few minutes.

“Yeah?”

“If you plan to meet her, don’t corner her over her feelings,” Naoto stood up from the desk, shuffling the letters together neatly “She’ll probably shut herself off if you come off too strong and a little annoyed over it. We can’t afford to distance an extremely powerful ally of ours.”

“I see… what should I do then, agony aunt Shirogane?” Yukiko asked with a cheeky grin on her face, looking a lot more playful this time.

And Naoto, for once, didn’t feel like being a killjoy. Some winds of change were in the air for sure. The detective chuckled weakly, shaking her head “Agony aunt? I think the only course of action is… to perhaps use this as an opportunity to get to know her. We can run this by Yu, but I’m going to pre-empt him and assume that he would be all for making us a tight knit, unified front against any future Shadows or that... _entity_.”

“Yeah, he’d probably wonder why we didn’t start sooner,” Yukiko nodded, clasping her hands loosely together on her lap “Even though Kirijo-san said we should leave it to her Shadow Operatives, we can’t just let that kind of stuff lie there when we have Personas too.”

“Exactly, and she knows this herself,” Naoto affirmed, sitting on the edge of the bed beside Yukiko “I believe that you could be a vital link in loosening her attitudes if you so choose.”

Strands of black silk were pulled over a narrow shoulder as a pair of grey eyes narrowed slightly “Wait… Hey, are you suggesting I take her up on this whole romantic thing?”

Naoto’s face went comically red in 0.5 seconds and she sprung up off the corner where she sat, waving her hands in front of her “Oh goodness! N-No! Not at all! There’s certainly a friendship option for you to get to know her without having to do that in any way, right? She will still appreciate you taking time out to talk to her.”

“You’re right, sorry for jumping to conclusions.”

“It’s fine. I believe I’ve fulfilled my purpose for being here, so I think I’ll take my leave for now. I’ll see you around, right Yukiko?”

“Yeah, of course! Here, let me walk you to the door at least.”


	3. Is This A Date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Found a headcanon I liked on a confessions blog concerning Mitsuru's family, so it's included in here. The idea is credit to the original confession submitter. It'll get elaborated on in later chapters too, heads up.

So that was that then. Naoto left and barely a day later Yu rang up Yukiko asking what her take on the whole situation was and what she thought of Naoto’s suggestions. It seemed that everyone was pretty happy to nudge Yukiko into at least meeting Mitsuru just to get to know her better. On her request, Mitsuru returned to Inaba; although Yukiko was fine with going to see her, she wasn’t totally comfortable with dropping everything and disappearing off to Port Island alone.

Well, one person wasn’t too pleased about it, but when Yukiko pressed Chie for what exactly pissed her off about it all, the short-haired girl huffed and said it was nothing. Of course it was _something_ , but Yukiko had other things to concern herself with than prying Chie for information in such a way that’d inevitably cause some kind of argument.

She asked to meet up outside the Tatsuhime Shrine (they’d decide where to go next there), and added a little note that Mitsuru should try to keep as low-key a profile as she possibly could. Low-key being no limo, no catsuit or flaunting of the Kirijo wealth no matter how unconscious an action it was. As her pumps clacked gently off the tarmac road, inclining upwards, she could see that Mitsuru did make a valiant effort to play down her presence at least clothing-wise. It was far more civilian-friendly than that outrageous fur coat and catsuit combination, that’s for sure.

The mane of red hair was allowed to tumble free as always, reaching the small of Mitsuru’s back with a spiral-like curl draped over her collarbone. Warm garnet hues looked over Yukiko with a gaze filled with a myriad of different emotions, held back so well that only a subtle glimmer in her eyes told of them. The younger woman rubbed her neck idly with a nervous smile as she drew closer, feeling the intensity of that stare more and more “Ah… hello!”

“Good afternoon,” the Kirijo CEO murmured, her voice was a pleasantly (perhaps a little alluringly) low thrum but her smile wide. A faint colour in her cheeks complimented the brightening of her eyes, as she stiffly offered her hand “I’m glad you asked me to meet you here.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. It’s not like we haven’t met before or anything. Are you hungry? There’s a nice little restaurant here that you might’ve heard of.” Quick to get down to business despite her own nerves making her a touch jittery—more so than usual, Yukiko patted Mitsuru’s arm and herded her away from the recently renovated shrine gate towards the Chinese Diner Aiya.

“Ah, Akihiko’s told me much of the special here. The Rainy Day Mega Beef Bowl Challenge, am I correct?” Mitsuru inquired, eyes flitting over the sign in the window, then over to her companion. “He said your friend Chie challenged him to a race in finishing one of these bowls—“

“—and that they both almost passed out from how full they got? Yeah, I heard.” Yukiko finished her sentence, but not dismissively, more so amused because of her recalling the spin on it that she heard. Chie had allegedly just beaten the man she described as ‘Master’ by a slim amount even if neither of them finished their bowls and had to hand over 3000 yen each.

“Don’t worry, I’m not challenging you to one of these either. For a start, it’s not even raining, and secondly I’d prefer to just talk to you over something more manageable to eat!”

The terror that statement instilled froze Mitsuru to the spot radiated from her, enough for the usually dense Yukiko to pick up on it. Glancing up, there was a tiny crack in the stoic façade, betraying the anxieties Mitsuru had locked inside about this entire meeting. It was probably to do with those letters she had sent, and it sure looked as if she wasn’t quite ready to talk about the subject manner contained within. The Amagi girl inhaled slowly through her nose and placed her hand on Mitsuru’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring little squeeze after great efforts were made to not suddenly pull her hand away skittishly.

“I’m nervous too,” she began quietly, offering a tentative smile “We don’t have to talk anything too serious if you don’t want to. We can save that for another time, okay?”

Mitsuru opened her mouth as if to say something, and then thought better of it, simply smiling at her and opening the door for her. Yukiko grinned a little wider, making a brief noise of surprise when she felt Mitsuru’s hand on the middle of her back, gently coaxing her into the relatively busy diner. They took their seats in a cosy little corner, so the other customers wouldn’t hear too much of their private conversation.

“…is there anything you’d like to say to me? I know those letters probably went down… oddly.” Mitsuru mumbled despite her better judgement and Yukiko’s earlier reassurance. She just wanted that out of the way as quickly as possible, even if it made her stomach coil up in knots the way she didn’t even know could happen. She’d never been this nervous about someone before…

“O-oh… we didn’t have to—Well, um, the letters were strange and I didn’t really understand them,” Yukiko blurted out, sitting uncomfortably upright, fingers tapping rapidly on the table which got the attention of the waitress. As she lazily sauntered towards their seats, the Amagi girl noted the forlorn look in her companion’s face and panicked a little “W-Wait, let me finish after we order, okay?”

A painfully long minute passed before the waitress left them alone again.

“Listen, Mitsuru-san…” Yukiko started, reaching over the table to get the distant looking Kirijo’s attention “I meant that I didn’t understand some of it since it was in a completely different language! I didn’t know you knew French, nor about all those different authors—I only know of most classical ones through school.”

Dark lips curled upwards a little, and Yukiko inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, finding it within herself to ask a fairly daring question after that “How come you know French so well? Was it just another interest or… was there something else to it?”

Sitting back, she calmed down some more noticing Mitsuru brightened up again back to the levels she saw outside the Tatsuhime shrine. Only now did Yukiko really notice what she was wearing, especially as Mitsuru finally shimmied out of her leather jacket revealing a modest, plain sweater with a low cut exposing mostly collarbone and some shoulder. She couldn’t help but notice how utterly unblemished it was, and found herself blushing a little as she fought to pry her eyes away back up to Mitsuru’s face.

“It was… due partly because of my lineage. I don’t tell many people about this, since no one usually asks… and since you’re the first, I’ll oblige you,” Mitsuru replied, clasping her hands on the table and smiling “I’m half-French, thanks to my mother coming from the Bordeaux area. She was from a very wealthy family, just like my father, and their marriage was arranged mostly to bring the companies their respective families owned together.”

Before she could even realise what she was saying, Yukiko quickly asked “So is that where your red hair comes from too?”

The Kirijo CEO laughed merrily—this was only a good sign to the Amagi girl—and nodded “I look very much like my mother. It’s what my father always used to tell me.”

A wistful sigh and Mitsuru’s expression grew nostalgic and a little glum all at once. Yukiko quickly grasped her hand, as if to tug her back out of that tangent. The redhead took a deep breath, and gave her a weak smile “Sorry. He passed away only a couple of years ago and it still—it still feels like it was only yesterday. My mother has been dead for a long time too.”

“I’m so sorry,” Yukiko whispered, squeezing the hand in her grasp, a pained and sympathetic look in her eyes “I had no idea.”

“It’s fine, really,” Mitsuru responded faintly, before realising that Yukiko was holding her hand somewhat tightly and her face started matching the colour of her hair rapidly. Only then did Yukiko look down at what she was doing and quickly retract her hand, giggling nervously “S-Sorry!”

She thought she heard ‘I didn’t mind it’ but convinced herself she was hearing things. The food arrived, and all awkwardness disappeared as they tucked into their noodles in earnest. Well, Yukiko certainly did, eyeing Mitsuru curiously poking her food before eating it with all the hesitance of a gazelle supping at a lake prone to crocodile attacks. Upon a wordless, quizzical look (since Yukiko was busy slurping up a long noodle), Mitsuru laughed uneasily “Ah, I’ve had a habit of eating foreign delicacies over local treats. Please, pardon me.”

Yukiko just shot her a grin, shaking her head as she swallowed another mouthful of food. The two ate in what was a remarkably comfortable silence, save for a few remarks from Mitsuru about how good her dish tasted and how different it was to her ‘usual’ fare. What was normal for her sounded completely outlandish to Yukiko, she noted quietly. It was almost as if Mitsuru might as well be a foreigner herself with her looks, lineage, distinctly different mannerisms and speech—Yukiko noticed her much sturdier and curvier (she wanted to describe it as a ‘European’) figure when it wasn’t hidden under that polar bear of a fur coat.

And then a thought hit her, slipping out from between her lips before she realised it “This is… kinda like a date, isn’t it?”

It was more to herself than Mitsuru, but that didn’t stop the wealthy heiress choking on her food, erupting into a coughing fit that alerted Yukiko to what she had said. Flustered, she moved quickly and slapped Mitsuru’s back, furiously apologising.

“It just seems like one but—but right now I’d- I’d prefer to just…” Sitting back down as the Kirijo CEO’s oesophagus finally cleared itself, the Amagi girl sighed and shook her head a little, prodding at her lukewarm food “I’d prefer to first get to know you better.”

Warm greys looked over and were suddenly met by alarmingly vivid ruby eyes. Yukiko’s shoulders drew up slightly; blinking like a deer locked in some intense headlights, the impression much the same from Mitsuru’s look alone. Was she even aware of the power her stare had? Probably in business meetings, but she didn’t seem like she knew it worked just the same on a casual basis too. Mitsuru’s eyes still held within them that same deluge of feelings as earlier, and it felt like even through a mere look Yukiko was being blown away by the sheer volume of them.

She remembered Naoto’s words from earlier: _“If you plan to meet her, don’t corner her over her feelings. She’ll probably shut herself off if you come off too strong and a little annoyed over it. We can’t afford to distance an extremely powerful ally of ours.”_

The redhead was still silent, quietly eating the remainder of her dish and with her eyes locked on Yukiko. This time the stare was softened by the lowering of her lids, so the heiress looked far more thoughtful than trying to look into the younger woman’s very soul. Yukiko gently pushed her plate out of the way, leaning forward and folding her arms on the table “Those letters you sent—I didn’t know what they were at first, but after Naoto explained what was in them, I think they’re very thoughtful. It’s really impressive that you’re so intelligent, and that you know so many languages. You really didn’t have to go to such expenses though!”

Mitsuru’s lips curled into a thin smile again “It was that, or I show up myself. I don’t think I could’ve managed giving you them in person at the time.”

Yukiko beamed, cheeks dusted pink “I guess but… Hey! You showed up fine today.”

“You asked me to, and who am I to refuse you?” Mitsuru answered, closing her eyes, her smile becoming more like that of a dozing cat. It seemed that since Yukiko knew how she felt about her, and hadn’t said anything yet to knock her confidence down; Mitsuru was becoming more comfortable with flirting. At least this is what Yukiko figured what flirting was.

“Psh, aren’t you a charmer?” Yukiko murmured quietly, glancing over as the waitress brought them the bill. Before she even had a chance to reach into her wallet, Mitsuru had already slapped down a fistful of cash, covering the food and the tip neatly. What lightning reflexes, she marvelled. “Are you sure you wanna pay? I can afford to—“

“Don’t worry, I have it covered.” Mitsuru handed the little wad of bills to the waitress, standing up “It’s really nothing. Shall we?”

Yukiko stood with a nod, following her out and into the fresh air “Brrr! I forgot how chilly it was outside. Listen, I have to get back to the inn. There’s some errands my mother wants me to do.”

“I can t-take you back there,” Mitsuru suddenly stammered out, eyes wide and brimming with hope and such a painful amount of longing that Yukiko couldn’t bear to even politely refuse.

“Alright, but I insist on taking the bus to the inn, okay?”

Before Mitsuru could suggest some other mode of transport (like a damn limo drawing more attention than necessary, as if Mitsuru’s distinctly European looks weren’t enough), Yukiko took her hand and dragged her to the bus stop “C’mon! It’s really not that bad.”

“But I’ve never used public transport!”

“A first for everything, don’tcha think?” Yukiko laughed, starting to run.

It didn’t take long for the bus to swing around, with the black-haired girl absolutely adamant that she’d pay the fare to the Amagi Inn. Mitsuru would have objected had she not been so busy with being fascinated by this facet of ordinary life, dragged into the last remaining space on the bus. All the seats were taken, Yukiko crossly noticed, and she stood by the window, pulling Mitsuru over to where she was “It’s never usually this busy.”

She received no answer, and while that wasn’t terribly unusual, she looked at Mitsuru and only then did their lack of personal space register in her head. The Kirijo CEO was stumbling for words, her mouth slightly open and her body oh so close to Yukiko’s without directly touching her. There were barely inches between their faces, and she could almost feel the blush off of Mitsuru’s. With no room to really move, Yukiko’s back pressed up against the window and even then it still looked like they were on intimate terms. She swallowed thickly, looking up at where her hand held the rail. Sure enough, her companion’s hand was mere centimetres from her own, and she didn’t need to be told to know how desperately Mitsuru wanted to simply put her hand on hers. Without really thinking, her hand began to draw closer to the heiress’ until—

“Amagi Inn stop!”

Mitsuru almost ran off the bus, Yukiko following with a rushed ‘thank you’ to the driver.

“Hey, are you alright?” she asked, though she was still considerably ruffled herself over that little incident. The redhead gave her a faint nod, looking over at the rather impressive building and desperately attempted to change the subject “Is this is the famous Inn you’re due to inherit…?”

Yukiko huffed, torn between answering the question and pressing the issue. She eventually gave into the former “Yeah, the place that’s avoided you buying it for so long.”

“Mmm,” Mitsuru made a sound of acknowledgement, tilting her head slightly as she continued to look up at it “Truth be told, I have no interest in trying to acquire it in any form now.”

“That’s good to know. So, mind telling me what that was on the bus?”

“Hrrk—“ Mitsuru gulped, looking over at Yukiko, fearing a returned look of irritation when all she got was one of confusion. “Well, um… I… You know how I feel, right? You read the letters, surely?”

“I did, I know too—I guess it was just a little… weird? Not in a bad way, either!” Yukiko hurriedly added before letting Mitsuru’s expression change for the worse. “Hmm, I gotta go soon. Mitsuru, I had a really great time today. Thanks for coming out to see me, paying for dinner and coming with me back to the inn.”

She closed the gap between them, to the same point of closeness as that on the bus, except there was plenty of room around them this time. Yukiko smiled, angling her head a little and pecking Mitsuru on the cheek (this was a European thing to do, wasn’t it? She could’ve sworn a teacher mentioned this in class), stepping back “I’ll see you again soon, right?”

Almost completely bowled over, the heiress wobbled on her feet, shocked and elated as her hand slowly touched the cheek kissed. Her voice took on a contented (if slightly shaky) low thrum once more “Absolutely. Here, please contact this number if you need me for anything. It’s available all hours of the day, just for you.”

A business card was carefully placed in Yukiko’s hands, and their eyes locked for a moment, forgetting their hands were interlocked for that same time. Mitsuru could’ve sworn she watched Yukiko move her head that tiny bit closer as if to kiss her, but she was possibly seeing things with her head so fogged up after a mere kiss on the cheek. Instead, the girl almost skipped off into the inn, waving to Mitsuru with a dazzling grin on her face as black silken strands tossed to and fro behind her.

The redhead felt like she could probably soar into the sky, her skin still tingling a little where lips made contact, as she pulled out her phone and made an extremely animated request for a driver to pick her up. She wasn’t going to risk sharing a moment like that on the bus with a complete stranger and ruin what had been a wonderful time. Yukiko was acting so favourably to her that she couldn’t help but be incredibly hopeful…


	4. Tell the Carnivore What's Up!

“What the hell, Yukiko?”

“What the hell, what?” she bemusedly answered, as Chie stomped into her room with an accusing look on her face. Chestnut brown eyes gave her a fiery stare; fists curled “You know what I’m talking about. I heard you went canoodling around with Mitsuru Kirijo.”

“Can- _Canoodling_ …?! I beg your pardon?” Yukiko asked, hand on her collarbone, cheeks flushing red and feeling vaguely offended “Who told you that?”

“Yu and Naoto, duh! It’s one thing when you go off with the local all-powerful multi-billion… trillionaire or _whatever_ she is, but it’s another when pretty much everyone else seems to be acting like you and her are some kinda item!” she growled, the huffing and hissing made more noticeable on certain words. A toss of her short hair and her angry glare was cast into a different corner of Yukiko’s room.

“They’re acting like I’m already together with—Are you kidding me!? This is the first I’ve even heard of it. Chie, I don’t know what they’ve been saying to you but I’ve really just been trying to get to know her better, nothing about **dating** her.” Yukiko sighed, rubbing her forehead slightly “Have they really been saying that?”

“W-well, nothing up front, but they’ve been implying it!”

“…Chie, are you projecting this idea onto them? That I’m getting into a relationship with Mitsuru Kirijo? I remember Naoto even saying to me that I should just focus on keeping her on our good side. Calm down, why are you jumping to these conclusions?”

There was another frustrated huff, but no direct response. Chie crossed her arms and had a scowl that could probably make Nanako cry. Yukiko attempted to pry with a question “Chie, are you worried about me?”

“N-No, I just don’t trust Mitsuru with you is all!”

Her best friend stared, studying her with a quirked brow in silence for a minute before frowning harder “Are you _jealous_?”

Caught red-handed, the green-clad fighter glowered at her feet, shuffling between them. Another awkward moment passed before she answered “…maybe.”

“Chie--” Yukiko sighed, exasperated. “Why’re you jealous of her?”

“Oh c’mon, do you have to ask?” Chie grumbled, her previous anger ebbing to mere frustration and some degree of helplessness “Cos she’s got so much going for her, duh! And hey, she’s got more than enough cash to whisk you away to some completely different part of the world—I bet there’s still that tiny little bit of you that wants to get out of Inaba even just for a little while.”

Yukiko looked at her sternly, a twitch of her lip when Chie hit a pretty sore spot. Sure it was true, but she wasn’t going to concede that victory to her “Take it easy already! I’m not going anywhere right now, so stop getting yourself all worked up. Are you still afraid I’m gonna just up and leave everyone?”

“…kinda,” she mumbled, rubbing her arm.

“I’m not leaving any time soon, okay? And if that changes, I’ll make sure it’s only temporary, like a holiday. How about that?”

“That’s a little better, but what about Mitsuru?”

“What **_about_** Mitsuru?”

Chie blinked, taken a little aback by the sudden roar of fire in Yukiko’s barely-level voice, her patience visibly wearing thin with Chie’s not-particularly-well-veiled antagonism of Mitsuru. Her best friend was silent, waiting for an adequate answer and alarmingly still like a cat ready to pounce. Giving a resigned sigh, she gave Yukiko a defeated look “Well, alright then. How do you feel about Mitsuru? Be honest with me, okay?”

Slender hands wrapped themselves around her arms, as Yukiko hugged herself and allowing herself to show her vulnerable feelings on the entire, admittedly a little skewed matter “She’s… She’s got a real charm about her—but not in the way you’d think. I mean, I assumed Mitsuru was a worldly woman savvy in just about everything but—but when it came to those letters she was sending me it was like I was dealing with a lovesick 15 year old.”

She paused. “Okay, an extremely intelligent 15 year old but my point still stands, since she was so naïve to the point where it really couldn’t have been put on as an act. She’s very endearing.”

Chie folded her arms, listening intently with a fairly guarded look on her face “So, you like her then?”

“Yeah, she’s a nice person.”

“I mean… really **liking** her.”

Yukiko looked at Chie, who returned the glance with that same stony look and crossed arms mutely. She wasn’t here for any bullshit, just the solid details of the matter. And them being friends for so long, Yukiko felt obliged to tell her that much, even if there was a little bit of a fight to pry it free from her private thoughts.

“Chie, don’t get mad, but… I think I could—I could really get to like her a lot. It’s not forced or anything either! I was kind of annoyed since the others seemed like they were hinting at me to make myself like her but she really—she’s really something else.”

The tomboy exhaled slowly out of her nose, briefly gazing into space before raising her head up with a meek smile “Alright, that’s good. If that’s how you feel about her, cool. S’cool… The only thing I’d get mad at now is if Mitsuru turned around and started being a jerk to you. But since that seems unlikely to happen… go for it.”

“Chie…”

“Nah, really! I had my doubts but since everyone seems happy about it, and you’re pretty interested from the sounds of things, I shouldn’t be a stick in the mud.” She shrugged, grinning wider and quickly brushing her nose with her index finger. “Go sweep her off her feet already!”

A great relief settled the Amagi girl’s shoulders, all previous anxieties with Chie flowing effortlessly out of her body with a mighty sigh. Yukiko gave her a grateful hug, squeezing her close once and standing back with her hands still on green-striped-yellow clad shoulders “Thank you so much, Chie. This means a lot.”

There was a weak pat to her back accompanied by an equally faint laugh from her friend “It’s fine, really. You go get ‘er tiger. I’ll stop worrying about you.”


	5. That...Escalated

A few days later, Yukiko had managed to convince her parents to let her go visit ‘a friend’ in Port Island for the weekend. They were loath to let her go, but when presented with the contact details of the aforementioned friend, they didn’t really have much to vouch for regarding lack of contact. That and, well, when her father tested it out and received the Kirijo Group’s secretary he was more than a little stunned. There were a couple of covert calls from her parents to Mitsuru herself in which she assured them this was nothing to do with attempting to acquire their inn, or anything business related for that matter.

Mitsuru was just grateful they didn’t interrogate her over anything else.

When Yukiko arrived, all the limits imposed on Mitsuru by Inaba were off and the first thing she saw outside the station was, of course, a limo. Trying not to show any sort of exasperation, she forced a little smile as the chauffeur opened the back seat and gestured for her to take a seat. Once she climbed inside, she was greeted by Mitsuru’s quiet little smile.

“Hi there.”

“H…Hi,” Yukiko murmured, suddenly a little shy now that she was on Mitsuru’s home turf this time around. “What’s the plan for us today?”

“There’s a nice restaurant I wanted to show you. Hungry?”

“Y-yeah, actually now that you mention it… I’m kinda starving.”

The first thing Yukiko noticed was the rather fancy décor, the second thing was the exorbitantly priced menu… Her jaw dropped and her eyes flew wide open, looking at digits that the Amagi Inn would make in a week **_overall_** casually affixed to a set menu. Mitsuru peered over her menu and chuckled “Relax, I’m buying.”

“Mi-Mitsuru?” Yukiko squeaked “But the price—isn’t this a little much?”

“Nothing’s too expensive when it concerns you,” she answered so matter-of-factly despite the amount of 0s on the menu that it almost made the girl’s head spin “Whatever you want on the menu, you’ll be getting it.”

“B-But I don’t know where to begin to choose!” Mostly because she’d never heard of most of these things on the list, all quite international dishes prepared with what she presumed were rare ingredients. Saffron was mentioned somewhere, and Yukiko was quite positive it was the purest stuff. “Can you… recommend some stuff for me?”

“No problem. I have eaten here enough to know which dishes are great, and which are _sublime_.”

Once Yukiko got over the initial shock of the cost to even nibble on a salad, Mitsuru pointed out some pasta dishes and emphasised how wonderful a kick the rocket dressing added to one in particular. Never mind that Yukiko hadn’t the faintest idea of rocket leaves or what they tasted like, but she decided to just go along with her recommendations, figuring they were soundly made.

And boy were these recommendations right. Sublime was a perfect word to describe this prettily presented linguine, which Yukiko hesitated to begin eating since it looked like a miniature work of art rather than a typical dish. Once she did on Mitsuru’s urging she was almost blown away. This was probably why it was so expensive; it was like dining in heaven itself. A part of her was a little sad that the Amagi Inn would probably never offer such divine food unless they wanted to run themselves out of business, but she tried ushering that thought away with the fact that they weren’t really catering to the elite of the elite like this restaurant was.

Mitsuru engaged her with business topics, but only out of pure interest regarding how an inn was even run in the first place. Yukiko answered as best as she could, still pretty green on that front but she appreciated how engrossed Mitsuru seemed even though it was about this quiet country inn and she was there running an entire conglomerate.

“Thank you so much.”

“Hmm?”

“For the food and the company, of course!” Yukiko chuckled, watching as Mitsuru nonchalantly entered her card details onto the tiny machine the waiter brought for her “I had a wonderful time.”

“Don’t forget where you’re staying too,” Mitsuru replied, with half-closed eyes and that contented little smile “I can hardly send you back home without experiencing some Kirijo hospitality. Although that sounds quite suspect, now that I’ve said it.”

In truth she was worried about Yukiko’s reaction, but she was mercifully answered with a giggle fit instead, which made her suddenly grin too. It wasn’t so much infectious, but the idea that she moved Yukiko to laughter seemed to galvanise her spirit. “Mitsuru, you’re silly! I’d be more than honoured to stay here for a night. Your home must be huge.”

“W-well, it is, but you can see for yourself. Shall we?”

“Of course!”

The two stood, thanking the waiter as they left the premises to be confronted with a blast of cold air from the wintery outdoors. The younger woman shivered and shuddered, leaning into Mitsuru who for a desperate second had no idea how to respond. For a comical minute or two the women walked along the streets of Port Island in a somewhat off-kilter manner until the Kirijo CEO’s brain registered that this was getting very uncomfortable and it was high time she moved her arm to accommodate Yukiko against her body—but where would her arm go? Around her shoulders, her instinct told her, and the Amagi girl seemed to greatly appreciate the gesture.

Mitsuru didn’t really register the cold; she always had an odd body temperature that could quickly adapt to the sharp changes of the weather. It seemed that Yukiko was lending a great deal of this extra warmth however, whether by her fiery nature or the Persona that lurked within.

They still had some time before they reached a street that Mitsuru’s personal chauffeur could pick them up in that accursed limo. It was in one of the narrower, emptier side streets that Yukiko picked her moment, stopping the heiress. A thin eyebrow was raised in a silent question as to why.

“Really I—I don’t know how to show you the level of gratitude I have for tonight. I don’t ever remember being treated this kindly and… and so generously either.”

Mitsuru was barely getting the first syllable out of her next sentence when Yukiko turned to her, looking into her eyes with a mix of expectancy and the wealth of feelings that Mitsuru had previously thought only she had towards her. It was like within a single look, the Amagi girl had shown that she was open to the idea of returning these very feelings.

Hands rested on Mitsuru’s shoulders, and her breathing almost stopped.

Time seemed to stand utterly still as Yukiko gently tucked the palm of her hand against Mitsuru’s jaw, lowering her eyelids but keeping her pupils ever-fixed onto her lips. Nervous, the heiress’ eyes fluttered shut; silently pleading for Yukiko to show her how this all went.

And then, she kissed her.

It wasn’t quite how Mitsuru thought it was, nor could she exactly pinpoint the heady feeling. She had never kissed another in her life before all this and for some reason she was suddenly pulling the younger woman impossibly close, tilting her head as their bodies fit together a little too perfectly. She never realised how much she needed this until now, grunting a little as Yukiko cautiously opened her mouth a little and brushed her tongue over Mitsuru’s lips.

The heiress stood back, flushed and wide-eyed, panting a little for breath as she stared into Yukiko’s eyes.  “I see… so that’s how these situations are started.”

“Huh?” Yukiko squeaked, eyelashes fluttering prettily as she processed what Mitsuru said “What’re you talking about?”

“That… That was my first,” the redhead murmured, garnet eyes flitting away from warm greys. The Amagi girl could have been blown over by an errant gust of wind, this revelation a little too much to sink in. This absolutely stunning, one of a kind woman with vast wealth and intelligence at her disposal hadn’t kissed anyone _until **just** **now**_? “Now that I know how it’s initiated…”

Yukiko would’ve asked had Mitsuru not kissed her this time, suddenly brimming with confidence and engulfing her into that embrace once again, long fingers virtually kneading into her back. She attempted to breathe through her nose, knocked completely breathless by this change of demeanour.

Well, if she was so willing, it was obviously time for Yukiko to step it up a little.

Fighting back, she made a deliberate show of moving her hands from Mitsuru’s waist up over her generous chest (causing the heiress to gasp for air and letting her breathe a little too), and entangling in that gloriously thick mane of wavy red hair, while her tongue prised the heiress’ mouth open. She was suddenly very aware of this warm swirling weight in her stomach, longing for more and more, as Mitsuru attempted to respond to the kiss by instinct; even if she had been sheltered for a great deal of her life, it was like things just clicked into place as she vied for the lead.

It was pretty sloppy and not exactly what Yukiko had in mind when she pictured Mitsuru kissing her (had she dared to imagine that beforehand? Yes, a number of times more than she’d like to admit), but even as the need for air claimed both and broke up their kiss, looking at the Kirijo CEO’s extremely satisfied face made her just want to kiss her again and again regardless of how inelegant her technique was. It’d improve the more she kissed her, anyways. She settled for resting her forehead against Mitsuru’s, occasionally moving forward and pecking her lightly on the lips and giggling as she evaded the redhead’s hungry _lunge_ to make it deeper.

“I see you’re really getting into it,” she teased, brushing her nose off of the heiress’, squeezed closer to her in response.

There was a desperate, pleading look in Mitsuru’s eyes, flicking between Yukiko’s eyes and her lips “I want—I want another… please?”

“Since you asked so nicely…”

Something about this vastly influential and wealthy woman almost begging her for a kiss (and if things continued this way, a whole lot more) filled the Amagi girl with a sense of power that almost toppled her over if not for Mitsuru’s commanding hold keeping her steady. Of course, what else could she do but grant it? The resulting moan from the heiress made her holding out so much more worth it, and she was a little torn between inwardly chuckling or completely stopping everything when the Kirijo CEO’s hands pulled their hips too close and moving her leg in between Yukiko’s.

 _…Well I knew she was always eager to learn new things but_ this _…?_

“Ah, ah, ah,” Yukiko tutted, waving her finger in the corner of Mitsuru’s peripheral vision with a flushed yet confident smile, feigning confidence and control when the heiress’ errant thigh made her breathe a lot harder and weaker at the knees than she wanted to show “I know you’re excited—and your instincts are good—but, patience. It’s a _little_ too public out here to be showing you what happens next.”

The redhead made a sound of disappointment, burying her head into the crook of Yukiko’s neck and sighing deeply. For being so icy, Mitsuru seemed a lot warmer in her arms, nuzzling into her and humming here and there with no particular tune to it.

“Aren’t you staying at my home?”

“Yeah, but… are you sure you want to just run all those bases in one night?” The Amagi girl had more experience on the Kirijo woman, that was for sure, but even she hadn’t quite figured out the final ‘base’ per se. That had been one abruptly short experiment with Chie, cut short when her parents almost caught them in the act. There would’ve been uproar if they had. And only now did it really hit her that Chie was jealous that Yukiko was drifting towards Mitsuru, for this very reason.

Her thought tangent was interrupted by a considerate hum as the older heiress seemed to regain some semblance of control over what were oddly un-Kirijo-like impulses “Let’s at least get back first.”

“We’ll figure what happens next there,” Yukiko agreed, kissing Mitsuru again and interlocking their hands, mind and gut swirling with an array of emotions and urges, very unlike her normal self, that she was debating to indulge in.


	6. A Sombre Home With A Snappy Android

The Kirijo mansion was even bigger than Yukiko could’ve ever imagined. It almost seemed to go on forever and how many of these seemingly endless rooms were even occupied was anyone’s guess.  Her original bewildering swirl of hormones and desires had quietened down a good amount as she spent a great deal of her time looking around slack-jawed, eyeing the leering figures in the many paintings hung up. Some were wearing strange old historical clothes and others in the traditional dress she was far more familiar with. Before she knew it, she was already asking “Who are these people…?”

“Hmm? Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten my European ancestry,” Mitsuru chuckled, turning around and walking over to her “That is a man from my mother’s side of the family. This was originally painted in France and brought over here when she married my father.”

“Striking,” Yukiko mumbled, eyes looking over what was ostensibly an 18th century painting of a wealthy man, judging from his elaborately detailed coat—and hell, the fact he had a painting of himself in the first place.

“There’s more.” Mitsuru gently took her hand and led her down the hall, past many more portraits; till they reached one smaller, humbly sized painting of a woman. She was slightly eccentric in her manner of dress; her hair was the same kind of red as Mitsuru’s but her face was much softer, gentler and welcoming. Yukiko guessed before the redhead to her right confirmed it.

“That’s my mother, Aimee Kirijo.”

Yukiko smiled faintly, squeezing the hand that still held hers “She’s beautiful. You definitely got her looks alright.”

“I don’t remember her, but from what my father told me, she would’ve loved to have met you,” Mitsuru answered quietly, her expression sombre.

“Mitsuru…?”

“It’s nothing. C’mon, I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping tonight. I promise you it’s a comfortable bed.” And so saying, she let the girl back in the other direction.

The room was… vast. Was this really the guest room? Was it the master guest room or something? Yukiko didn’t even think the most expensive rooms in her inn were nearly this big. The bed was like, a king-size. No futons here! Unable to resist, she jumped bum-first onto the bed, giggling as she bounced atop the covers.

“Is it comfortable enough?” Mitsuru asked, barely concealing a smile.

“Perfect, actually! I’m gonna sleep like a log tonight,” Yukiko answered, suddenly stretching out and yawning cavernously “Whoa, I think that food made me all sleepy.”

She looked up at Mitsuru who seemed torn over something “What is it?

“I, uh, I was going to ask if you’d like to see my room,” she mumbled anxiously, fidgeting “But not like—like that, I mean—I thought you’d be curious to see.”

“I am,” Yukiko chuckled, standing up “It shouldn’t take too long to see your room, right?”

“I promise the tour’ll be brief,” Mitsuru responded, beaming as she led her back out of the room. Not many steps were taken before the redhead opened another door, to a room just as expansive as Yukiko’s temporary lodgings. She gasped before she realised what she was doing. Was that a _piano_?

“I... Mitsuru, your room is amazing. I didn’t know you could play!”

“Well, truth be told, I’m not that good. I can play a few songs here and there,” she replied, amused by Yukiko’s exuberance. Not so sleepy now, was she? Mitsuru walked over and tapped a few keys, before launching into a surprisingly good rendition of Moonlight Sonata. Yukiko planted herself beside her, watching her dextrous fingers with great interest and growing marvel as the music flowed.

“What’re you talking about? You’re really good…”

The heiress finished the last bar; looking at the younger girl “Only as good as my lessons were. Memorising things is all well and good, but original composition is still a touch beyond me. Can you play?”

“Oh god, no—not at all! I’m not that good with my hands,” Yukiko answered, before suddenly cringing at how off that sounded. Mitsuru simply appeared entertained, smirking a little “I believe you are, actually. Earlier was a good indication of the potential you have.”

The light in her eyes seemed to change, her eyes appearing to be a deep wine-red and oh how they lured the Amagi girl in. Before she knew it, she was entwining her fingers through ruby red locks of hair and kissing Mitsuru with a little more fire—as if Konohana Sakuya flared up within. To Yukiko’s surprise however, Mitsuru pulled away after a few moments, stroking her face delicately with the tips of her long fingers, grazing over the girl’s lower lip with a thumb and her own expression was just _so_ content and happy—

“…Tell me, Yukiko,” she murmured thoughtfully, her words suddenly quite weighty but hers was a look of hope “Where do we stand?”

“Where we stand?” she asked, coiling the spiral-like lock of red hair around her finger idly.

“I mean—I mean that, with all this affection as of tonight, I am led to believe that we’re… you know.”

Yukiko glanced away, realising what exactly she had managed to get herself into what with her very forward actions earlier and just now. With a renewed will and vigour, she straightened up, looking Mitsuru right in the eye and moved her hand from the lock of hair to her cheek “Then you _should_ believe it.”

“Yu-Yukiko?”

“You like me, right? And—And I like you back. That’s why I kissed you, y’know? So, let’s make it official.”

Hope turned to elation, now that it was out in the open and the deal was sealed. Yukiko found herself trapped in a tight hug, returning it as best as she possibly could with a chuckle. When the two broke apart once more, Mitsuru couldn’t stop herself from stealing another kiss “Alright, well…you should go get some rest.”

“Huh?” Yukiko blurted, having expected Mitsuru to try go a little further than earlier “You mean you’re not gonna…”

“Hmm?” the redhead stood up, before the realisation hit her a second later and her face glowed slightly “O-oh… no, no that wasn’t my intention, truthfully. Since we’re… we’re together, let’s take our time.”

Relief and disappointment, paradoxically, filled her simultaneously, as the Amagi girl stood up after Mitsuru and nodded “We can test out the other stages another time.”

There was a brief pause, as Yukiko’s dark eyes glanced down. When they looked back up, they were joined by a bright smile as she approached the heiress, embracing her close and kissing her again lightly on the lips, murmuring “Goodnight, Mitsuru.”

Reciprocating it happily, the redhead held her tightly, mumbling a muffled ‘night’ in response with her face buried in the junction of Yukiko’s neck and shoulder. She let her go reluctantly, watching her return to the guest room with a wistful sigh. When she had naught but herself for company, Mitsuru inhaled deeply, trying to calm down her excited heart and overactive brain so that the rest of her body could actually sleep, what with being tired out by the energy the two organs were burning up in light of Yukiko agreeing to be with her.

 

* * *

 

“I was not informed that we would have a guest tonight,” a loud, authoritative voice sounded out, cutting clean through the nice dream Mitsuru was having. Grumbling unintelligibly as the light seared through her eyelids and rolling over, the heiress tugged the sheets over her some more. The voice called out again “Mitsuru, please wake up. I believe your guest would not like to be left waiting.”

“Alright, alright you’ve made your point; I’m awake, Aigis!”

The android smiled as the cranky redhead untangled herself from her bed and stood up groggily. She offered her a dressing gown with a quiet whirring of her gears “So, have you yielded any results with Yukiko-san yet?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes actually,” Mitsuru replied, suddenly realms more cheerful when she realised last night wasn’t a fabrication of her mind “As of last night, we’ve become—we’ve become an item.”

“Wonderful! When will you announce it to your respective friends?” Aigis asked, as she plodded to the door, hands extended to the handle but just hovering over as she waited for an answer.

“…Shortly, but we’re planning on becoming more comfortable with each other first before any of that is leaked to them.”

“So you don’t want me to contact Akihiko and inform him what’s transpired?”

“ ** _NO_**!”

Aigis simply regarded Mitsuru with a wide grin, and left the room. The redhead was darkly thinking of ways to change her programming so that she wouldn’t be so _smart_ with her replies, when she heard some talking down the hall and more footsteps approaching her door.

And then, while she was half-dressed, the android had rather blatantly walked in leading Yukiko, who had gone a fetching shade of crimson in her cheeks and averted her eyes. Mitsuru shrieked “Aigis! What the hell are you doing?!”

“I thought you’d want to talk to your guest some more.”

“I’m not even dressed for crying out loud!”

“I didn’t realise you needed to be dressed.”

“ ** _AIGIS_**!”

Their ‘friendly’ exchange was interrupted by a peal of laughter from Yukiko, both former members of SEES turning to look at her, one with bewilderment and the other with barely veiled glee. Aigis simply continued to smile almost angelically as the Amagi girl slapped her arm in her laughing fit. Mitsuru rolled her eyes and turned around, pretending they weren’t there because they presumably weren’t going to leave, and Yukiko already saw some of her so there was little point in shrieking and diving behind something.

Aigis whirred happily “I think I’ll leave you two alone. I’ll be waiting in the hall.”

As soon as she clanked out and away, Mitsuru managed to make herself look decent and turned to face Yukiko “Sorry about all that, and what you might’ve seen.”

“I’m not complaining,” she giggled, shaking her head “Actually, that was all pretty entertaining.”

The redhead chuckled weakly, taking her hand and leading her out and after Aigis “If you’re sure, then I shouldn’t be so worried, right?”

“Mhm! That and, I liked whatever I did see~!” Yukiko answered, winking up at Mitsuru with a sly grin. Before she knew it, she was pinned to the wall of the corridor by the heiress and being kissed like the older woman’s life depended on it. Not that the black-haired girl minded that much anyway, meeting the passionate kiss lip for lip, tongue for tongue, grabbing fistfuls of crimson red hair. When the heiress broke for air, she didn’t pull too far back away from her new girlfriend, murmuring “Perhaps, you can see more of it sometime.”

“I’d like that,” she answered, hands gliding down from Mitsuru’s hair to her lower back.

The redhead moved in for another kiss—but held back with all her willpower before actually making contact, smirking “Let’s get you home first.”

She walked on ahead, and Yukiko had to take a moment to compose herself before following, the frustration of being denied knotting up in the bottom of her stomach. Even Konohana Sakuya seemed to make a noise of disgust at being left hanging, which at least amused the girl enough to take her mind off of it.

“Hey, uh… would you like to come back to the Inn?” she asked, catching up to Mitsuru as they arrived into the main hall where Aigis waited. The android looked absently at the heiress, before an expectant look appeared on her face.

“Wh-what? Uh, but it’s such short notice, isn’t it? Don’t you think they’ll be a little displeased?”

“They’re not going to be annoyed at the woman running the Kirijo Group, I don’t think,” Aigis ventured, before Yukiko even had a chance to say a word. “Besides, if you simply book a room on short notice, which you most certainly can afford, they can’t refuse.”

“Aigis has a point,” Yukiko agreed, smiling back at the android who grinned but not quite for the same reason it seemed. “It’d be great if you did; you could also get used to hanging out with the others as well as me.”

Mitsuru appeared a little pained; the idea wasn’t bad in theory, but considering that she was quite aware Chie didn’t like her that much and it was only going to get worse if she discovered they decided to become an item, and that she simply wanted to keep Yukiko all to herself and have no one else interrupt their time, it didn’t sit well with her. She grumbled, rubbing the back of her neck lightly “I suppose we’re going to have to tell your friends what’s transpired between us after all.”

“…Yeah, that’s gonna be fun. I’m pretty sure everyone’ll be fine with it, though.”

“Even your parents?”

Yukiko folded her arms, frowning lightly and looking downwards “Now that… I’m not so sure. When Yu was helping me out with those nosy reporters, the staff at the inn gossiped all the time that we were dating, and it was all light-hearted stuff. But that was Yu, and I’m not sure what kind of gossip would come out of them finding out about us.”

The idea of Yukiko dating another, never mind dating a man or Yu, made Mitsuru’s stomach roil and her blood run ice-cold as Artemisia reacted to a what-if more than was the slightest bit necessary. Pinching her nose and sighing out of it too, she searched for ideas. “Let’s try and… keep it to just your friends, then. I’ll let Akihiko know, but no one else—seeing as Aigis used her digital brain for once.”

Aigis silently laughed that remark off.

“Alright, that sounds good to me. Shall we go then?”

Mitsuru nodded with a subtle smile on her face, offering her hand to Yukiko “Let’s go.”


	7. Trip to the Countryside

The journey was quiet, uneventful and absent of Aigis, which was only a boon as far as Mitsuru was concerned. Yukiko wasn’t too pleased about the limo, but she felt less inclined to care when it meant that she could cuddle up to the heiress without anyone staring. The redhead was silent, busy wondering how exactly she could rein in a lot of growing, restless hormones that were demanding her complete capitulation to their wish of ravishing Yukiko.

As if she had the faintest idea of how to even begin such torrid things, which was the main obstacle that these hormones faced—her extreme reluctance to dive straight into unfamiliar territory with absolutely no knowledge save that of the general female human body that she learned in biology. What made Yukiko tick? What made her smile, what made her flutter her eyes or gasp or anything?

Judging by the light purr that she felt through her shoulder, Yukiko certainly liked circles being traced over her hips and abdomen. That was a start.

Mitsuru froze a little when she felt the Amagi girl’s hand straying across her collarbone and finding rest on the shoulder on the other side. She became even more rigid as she watched her come closer out of the corner of her eye and, brushing red hair out of the way, kissed her neck on the pulse. Something about lips being there or just being touched there sent a shiver down the redhead’s spine, eyes fluttering closed and moving towards the source of the sensation. Clearly Yukiko too was working on finding what little things made Mitsuru quiver.

Thank god the windows were blacked out; she thought as her instincts took over the use of her limbs and pulled Yukiko onto her lap, reciprocating the caress of lips on exposed neck and moving to her jaw. _God_ , was the girl whimpering? It was like music to her ears, as her fingers curled in the material of her dress and continuing to eke out more and more of these keening little sounds. The girl atop of her became bolder, and her own hands moved from their original position on either side of the heiress’ head to her body, coming dangerously close to slipping between fabric and skin.

And that was when the warning signals started firing off wildly in Mitsuru’s head, her attitude doing an utter U-turn from looking to push the previously established boundary to running back to safety with her tail between her legs, hands bolting from Yukiko to herself and crossing over her torso to prevent any further exploration. It was like at the threat of a break in, the iron shutters came hurtling down to stop anything precious from possibly being hurt. She looked guiltily downwards, unable to meet the other’s eyes.

Far from looking irritated by the sudden change, Yukiko simply wrapped her arms around Mitsuru’s shoulders and held her close “It’s alright. I won’t do anything that you don’t want me to-- Taking our time with this, and all that.”

The redhead sheepishly returned the embrace, hands shyly stroking black hair “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want you to feel forced into anything just because of me. Don’t worry about it, okay? We’re almost at the Inn.”

There was a noise of affirmation, and Yukiko slid off of Mitsuru back onto her own seat, but not without kissing her cheek and taking her hand. She gave it a gentle squeeze, looking at the troubled Kirijo “My parents might take you aside and interrogate you. It’ll just be them making absolutely sure you don’t want to buy the Inn, and better that than them knowing about us for now.”

The older woman nodded silently, staring ahead as the limo began to slow down. Yukiko frowned slightly, before a lightbulb suddenly switched on in her head “I know--! I’ll arrange the rooms so that it’ll be really easy for me to get to yours. They won’t be too suspicious of that, um, I don’t think.”

The limo ground to a halt, and the chauffeur hopped out to let out his passengers. Out stepped Yukiko first, followed closely by Mitsuru, as the two walked towards the Inn. The chauffeur also ran after them, carrying a bag of luggage belonging to the heiress. Business was quiet in the Amagi Inn, and the staff were either idle or sweeping up simply as something to do. So when the doors opened, and they spotted their employer’s daughter walking in with what looked like a foreigner and a smartly dressed man complete with peaked cap, all they could do was watch and quietly conjure up gossip for later. Only one middle-aged woman approached her, wearing a yukata “Hello Yuki-chan. Who are these two?”

“Oh, Kasai-san, um,” Yukiko glanced behind her at Mitsuru, and gestured towards her “That’s a friend of mine, Mitsuru Kirijo. The man is her, um, driver.”

Mitsuru bowed her head slightly, arms folded and her posture appearing relatively relaxed, glancing over at her own personal staff member as he bowed and mumbled a greeting back before shuffling back outside. The men and women had mixed reactions; some certainly knew the significance of the Kirijo name, others hadn’t the faintest clue. The woman blinked, she was one of those aware of her importance “Goodness… we weren’t expecting such a prestigious guest—“

“Don’t worry,” the redhead stepped forward, flashing a reassuring smile and waving her hand dismissively “There’s no need to go out of your way for me. I’m going to stay for a couple of days, and it is I who should apologise for not booking in advance, and simply staying here this minute.”

“Well… if you’re a friend of Yuki-chan’s, then I suppose we should look into giving you a discount.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll be more than happy to fully support the Amagi Inn in any way possible, even if the Kirijo Group has no interest in acquiring it, or the Inn has no intention of being bought in the first place.”

Yukiko eyed the heiress out of the corner of her eye. She was a fearsome businesswoman indeed and most certainly in her element here in dealing with such frivolous business-to-business interactions. But she was an absolute incoherent mess when it came to anything as simple and natural as a kiss, and while it did tickle Yukiko’s funny bone there was also something inherently depressing about it. Not that the Amagi girl was an expert in the field herself, but she might as well be standing beside Mitsuru.

She was hoping that’d change, and maybe she could be the one to show her how it all worked. Yukiko wasn’t sure if she was ready to jump into the deep end either, but she was only too happy to gently bring Mitsuru to where she currently was as far as current experience went.

Was Mitsuru afraid of not being in control when she’s at her most vulnerable? To go all the way with someone did mean surrendering a lot of that—or that’s what Yukiko assumed for the most part from what tiny snippets she knew of that ‘final base’.

“Th-That’s very kind of you, Kirijo-san. Please, let me show you to your room.”

“Actually, I was going to do that.” Yukiko stepped forward, putting on as innocent a smile as she could muster “That’d be alright, wouldn’t it? After all, she is a friend and I’d like to be a good host to her.”

“That’s fine Yuki-chan. Off you go then. I’ll inform your parents when they come back.”

Mitsuru gave Yukiko a grateful smile as she followed the curtain of black hair swaying from side to side to her room.

=

This time, Mitsuru got a slightly more detailed look at the vast expanse of Junes, accompanied by Yukiko and a few of her friends who had tagged along. Naoto, Rise, Kanji and Yosuke had joined them, all being quite polite and sociable with the redhead, though Mitsuru had noted Rise and Naoto gave her some extra emphasis in their smiles which had somewhat…unnerved her.

“Yo! What’s a tycoon like you doing back in this little place here?” Yosuke chirped, with a mock salute and one eye winking. Naoto briskly shook Mitsuru’s hand in silence, and when the heiress looked at Rise, she received a more deliberate wink that had almost had more behind it than Yosuke’s. She could have sworn she felt Yukiko riling up beside her, a dangerous smile on her face.

“Well, I have my reasons. Where is Narukami? Satonaka? And… Teddie?” Mitsuru elected to hold onto any sort of ‘our’ or ‘we’ until she and Yukiko actually announced their relationship proper.

“Yu’s back in the city with his parents, but he’s due a visit out here again soon,” Yosuke answered, glancing briefly over at Rise and Kanji as if to make sure his info was right. The two underclassmen shot back a united bewildered look that Mitsuru read as ‘you know more than we do’.

 “And Teddie? He’s just sounding out the TV World and making sure nothing’s happened. He’ll be back later today. Chie said she was gonna be busy helping Dojima out at the station.”

Naoto glanced over between Yukiko and Mitsuru, apparently aware of another layer under the surface “Anyway, there must be some reason for you coming back with Yukiko as quickly as she went to Port Island.”

There was a long pause, as the two glanced between each other and then away from both their entourage and any passers-by. Kanji blinked, if it was lost on his friends (but probably not frickin’ Naoto), he was nowhere near on the same page as them “Uh, somethin’ happen?”

“You could say that,” Yukiko replied with a short inward sigh, grey eyes flitting over at Mitsuru before they looked back at Kanji “There’s some news from Port Island alright. Let’s go somewhere a little quieter so we can tell you.”

_We_? Naoto already gauged the news simply by analysing the pair’s expressions, but the detective mercifully remained silent. Yosuke herded them to what was the old Investigation Team’s “special headquarters”, aka the food court at Junes, and once they all took their seats, they looked at Mitsuru and Yukiko expectantly.

“So,” Rise giggled, propping up her chin on her curled fingers and beaming “What’s up? Nothing serious right?”

Mitsuru folded her hands atop the circular table and shook her head lightly “In a manner of speaking, yes and no. Don’t—Don’t publicise this too much beyond your Investigation Team, but…”

“Buuuuuut?” Rise drawled, looking at Yukiko curiously and receiving naught but a stern look for her trouble. She quickly glanced at Naoto who betrayed nothing but the fact that she seemed to know what the two were going to say, and wasn’t going to give that away any time soon.

Yukiko made sure no one else would see or hear what she was about to do, and she shifted her seat closer to Mitsuru’s, fingers sliding over the heiress’ clasped hands—the redhead’s hands separating so they could interlock fingers with hers “Well, there was some talking and other things, and—uh— basically? We’re… We’re t-together.”

The Kirijo woman had shut her eyes and clasped the Amagi girl’s hand tightly, fearing negative reactions from her friends. Yukiko swallowed thickly, glancing between them all. Nothing had been said, but from Naoto’s relieved expression the navy-haired detective looked pleased that this was the outcome. Rise was somewhere between shocked and already conjuring up a slew of interesting and extremely nosy questions, Kanji was purely perplexed, plain and simple, while Yosuke grinned away and nodded approvingly. Yukiko wasn’t quite sure if he approved of them being together because of her finding someone she liked or just because they were both women and he was being a typical male about this sort of thing.

“Congratulations,” Naoto murmured knowingly, tipping that signature hat towards the two. Kanji, encouraged by Naoto, smiled “You two? S’awesome news; y’had me worried that some shit had gone down on the island.”

Rise by contrast had a far more worryingly broad grin on her face, like she was plotting something. This time, Yukiko’s hand gripped tighter on Mitsuru’s, her face stoic and unchanging. The pop idol bobbed her head from left to right rhythmically with a little hum “It’s gonna be hard keeping this under wraps in Inaba! I’m not gonna tell anyone, but seriously Yukiko-senpai, you’re with the richest woman in the country. People _are_ gonna put two n’ two together, especially when there’s a limo coming through more and more often and going up to the Inn… or you disappearing off to Port Island or hell even **_abroad_** for that matter!”

“I _knew_ the limo was a bad idea,” the black-haired girl muttered darkly, staring away.

“Well I for one fully support this!” Yosuke chirped, sitting back and folding his arms, still grinning from ear to ear “It’s easy to see how you two are now the hottest couple in town. Secret love! How romantic, huh?”

With a speed that no one had ever really seen her exhibit before, Yukiko had lunged forward and slapped Yosuke with a painful crack echoing out of the food court, loud enough to probably be heard even by Yasogami. The girl wore an ominous look on her face as she slowly sat back down, watching the Junes boy reel and groan in pain as he clutched at the growing red mark on his face “What the hell!?”

“Don’t be so lewd,” she scolded, glowering at him so much that it was like she hoped he’d burst into flame under such scrutiny “Next time you make comments like that, it won’t just be a slap!”

“But I wasn’t trying to be lewd, I was just stating facts! Holy crap… Kanji, is my face bruising!?”

“Nah, but your face ain’t lookin’ too good senpai,” the burly fellow answered, folding his arms and sitting back in his chair with a look of mild delight on his face at the fate of Yosuke’s cheek.

“Anyway,” Yukiko cut in, briefly glaring at Yosuke “since there’s still people missing and don’t know what’s happened; if you guys run into Yu before me, let him know, okay? With Teddie, I guess you could tell him straight up, but don’t let him blab about it. And as for Chie… leave her to me. I’ve a feeling she won’t take this very well.”

Naoto certainly agreed the way her shoulders sagged. Rise huffed, lowering her eyes and scratching behind one of her pigtails “Good luck with her. From the sounds of things you’re gonna need it.”

“Just don’t mention Mitsuru’s in town, will you?” she pleaded, giving the idol a meaningful look. The auburn pigtails jostled around as she nodded, understanding how important it was “No problem. If you need back up with Chie, don’t hesitate to call any of us.”

“It’s appreciated, really. Thanks.”

“Whoa, crap. My dad just left me a message saying I have to go help him out with stocks, they’re kicking his ass. I’ll catch you guys later.” Yosuke stood up, glancing around and making sure he had all of his items with him “Uh, good luck with Chie, but try not to slap her too, okay?”

The scion of Junes must’ve missed the little growl that Yukiko uttered after that suggestion, Mitsuru noticed. Rise dragged up Kanji as well as Naoto “That reminds me, grandma wanted me to get two volunteers to help out with the shop. It’s just for the afternoon, so it won’t be long!”

“Ah hell, when’d I ever say anything about volunteering?!” Kanji spluttered, attempting futilely to wriggle out of Rise’s grip. Naoto didn’t look pleased either but remained silent. The songstress frowned, gesturing with a nod towards the new couple “It’d be rude if we were intruding on their time, don’tcha think? And besides, I promise that there’s a _nice_ reward after our work~”

Mitsuru wasn’t sure what exactly lay in wait for Naoto and Kanji for helping Rise’s family out, but she and Yukiko soon pieced two and two together when both of the idol’s fellow underclassmen suddenly shone with a healthy red and wordlessly let the girl drag them away.

“That was… peculiar.”

“You say that like you expected something else,” Yukiko chuckled, lightly butting her shoulder with her forehead “You DID meet them before!”

“I was trying to be nice,” Mitsuru replied, unable to disguise the mirth in her voice. The two giggled and, as Yukiko quickly looked around for no onlookers, they shared a light kiss. Suddenly, the Amagi girl’s phone went off in her pocket; as they stood to leave she scrambled to answer it.

“…Chie?”

“Hey! Sorry if this seems out of the blue, but Dojima-san got loaded with another buttload of paperwork here at the station. Could you check on Nanako for him? Tell her he’s gonna be a bit late and he’s really sorry.”

“Well sure, that’s no problem. I got her covered, let him know that.”

“Cool! Talk later!”

Closing her phone over, she looked sheepishly at Mitsuru who only looked back at her bewilderedly “Uh, we’re gonna have to stop by the Dojima place, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s no problem.”

“Are you sure? We’re gonna be checking up on Nanako, so…”

“My schedule is free here; I’m at your mercy.”

Now Yukiko was aware that Mitsuru said that mostly to reassure her that it was perfectly fine to literally do whatever while she was in Inaba, but something about that sentence made her shiver and blush at the potential undertone to it, shortly followed by self-admonishment for letting her brain take that particular turn. Shakily she nodded and took the heiress’ hand, pulling her in the direction of Dojima’s home.

It was only a matter of minutes, spent by Mitsuru admiring the quiet surroundings and linking arms with Yukiko, before they came upon the house.

After a quick knock, the doors were slid open, and out peeped Nanako Dojima, craning her neck upwards at the two women “Ooh! He-Hello! I didn’t think you’d be visiting today.”

“Chie and Dojima-san asked me to. Is it alright if we come in?”

“Yeah, it’s okay!” the girl chirped, standing back and letting them in although eyeing the red-haired stranger with curiosity and wariness in equal measure “Is that…?”

“Nanako, I’d like you to meet Mitsuru Kirijo.”

The heiress leaned down, hands on her thighs propping her upper body “Hello there Nanako, it’s very nice to meet you. You can call me Mitsuru if you’d like.”

Nanako skittered away, closing the door and hiding behind Yukiko, little fingers curling into the bottom of the shirt she wore and peering out. With an apologetic sigh, Yukiko hunkered down and wrapped her arms around the little girl, looking at Mitsuru “Sorry, she’s a little shy with new people. It’s okay Nanako-chan; Mitsuru’s a nice lady, a really nice lady in fact.”

“Really nice?”

“I wouldn’t like her so much if she wasn’t,” Yukiko answered, squeezing Nanako’s shoulder gently with a smile.

“If Yukiko likes you a lot, then you must be nice. Do you like her the way Risette likes Kanji?” she asked, suddenly quite inquisitive and stepping from the Amagi girl towards the Kirijo woman.

“Risette? Oh, Rise—does she like Kanji that way?” Mitsuru squinted, glancing at Yukiko who half-heartedly shrugged. “We probably shouldn’t explain to her at this age what polyamorous relationships are.”

“Polly what?”

“Never you mind Nanako-chan! _Let’s just assume Rise does,_ okay _Mitsuru?_ ” Yukiko interjected, hissing the sentence after quietly and with a very meaningful look that Mitsuru mercifully caught, although she was still completely lost on how Rise and polyamory were linked.

“So—So you and Yukiko are gonna get married?” the ever curious girl asked, actually looking very hopeful about such a prospect. The Amagi girl blanched and laughed awkwardly “I don’t know about that, Nanako-chan! It’s still quite early days yet. Oh, uh, may I use the bathroom here for a moment?”

“Sure, y’know where it is, right?” Nanako chirped, glancing in the direction of the stairs. Yukiko nodded, and quickly hurried off, leaving the Kirijo CEO alone with the little girl.

“Nanako—“ Mitsuru started, catching her attention “It is still quite early in our relationship to say anything, but… _if_ I could, I would like to marry Yukiko should our relationship prove strong. I... must say I haven’t felt quite like this about someone for some time.”

“Yeah! You would both have really pretty dresses,” Nanako giggled, clapping her hands together. It was _extremely_ relieving to Mitsuru’s underlying maternal urges that the girl had fast abandoned her shyness and was happy to engage with her in conversation “Or would you wear a suit? I dunno if Yukiko would wear a suit…”

“We’ll figure that out if we get to that point, Nanako-chan. First though, tell me—you and your father live here alone, right? I know Yukiko mentioned it while we were on our way here.”

The girl got a tiny bit gloomy, swaying from left to right and clutching the ends of her dress with a tiny frown “Yeah, we used to have my big bro here too helping out. He really helped bring me and Dad together too! Dad can be really busy with work though, so I end up looking after the house a lot alone, but big bro’s friends check on me too and play with me!”

A tiny pang of sympathy began to slowly roar into life within Mitsuru, as she struggled a moment to find the next question she was going to ask—reluctantly, given how sensitive it could be “What… What about your mother?”

“She died when I was really small, so I don’t remember her.” The girl said it so matter-of-factly that it had to be the pure truth. The pang turned into a solid grip on her heart and Mitsuru felt compelled to kneel down in front of her, giving Nanako an earnest look.

“We have something in common then.”

A puppy-like tilt of Nanako’s head urged her to continue “My mother died when I was very young too, and for as long as I can remember, right up to my last year in school, my father focused on his work. He rarely played, but he always taught me important things when he had time—which didn’t happen that often to begin with.”

Huge brown eyes widened and the girl gasped “You’re the same too?”

“I didn’t have a ‘big bro’ to help out, though. When I was in middle school I met two boys who’d become more like ‘little brothers’ to me.”

“Wow, I bet they’re really strong and nice too!” Nanako giggled, huddling closer to Mitsuru with her hands on her chubby cheeks “Can I meet your little brothers? And your Dad?”

“We…we can only meet one of them. Two will mean we’d have to go to a graveyard,” Mitsuru replied sadly, with a sigh. Nanako’s face dropped, lowering her head.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I’m sure that they would’ve loved to have met you. I know Akihiko would be excited to see you.”

“Aaah! Akihiko-san is someone Chie keeps talking about!” Nanako beamed, shooting back into life. This was only accentuated by the sliding open of the door, causing the girl to zip around Mitsuru and run over to collide with her father’s legs.

“Hey Nanako, I’m home--!”

“Dad!”

“Hey there Nanako. Did Yukiko come by to…visit?” Dojima trailed off, very much aware that the woman with this long, wavy and unnaturally blood red mane of hair was most certainly not Yukiko Amagi. Suspicion streaked the disapproving frown he wore, and Nanako futilely attempted to curb what potential rage the man would no doubt have “Who’re you and what’re you doing in my house?”

“Dojima-san,” Mitsuru started, unsure and uneasy about how the man would exactly take the idea that she was courting a local young woman. Nanako stubbornly smacked her father’s leg “Dad, stop! Mitsuru-san is really nice. She has to be nice because Yukiko likes her a lot and they’re gonna get married!”

To be quite fair to Dojima, he had no real way to react to that. Neither did Yukiko, who had come down the stairs before Nanako finished her spiel. She was going to have to ask Mitsuru if she was seriously considering that later.

“D-Dojima-san?” Yukiko ventured, causing the detective to turn to her.

“Ah, Yukiko. Um… You know this woman?” he asked sheepishly, pointing half-heartedly at Mitsuru. The heiress crossed her arms; the only sound she made was that of an almighty sigh escaping her nose.

“Yeah. Nanako’s… sort of right, but the marriage thing, I don’t know about that yet,” Yukiko laughed weakly, rubbing the back of her neck. Dojima tittered faintly too, not entirely sure if that was a joke considering the conviction that Nanako had declared it with. “I have to ask you not to tell my parents anything about myself and Mitsuru, okay?”

Oh, so Nanako _wasn’t_ actually joking about that. Dojima blinked, looking at the heiress who suddenly looked at him with ice if he answered wrong. Remarkably unimpressed by that, the man quirked his brow and folded his arms “I won’t, but only because you’ve been such good to Nanako and I really can’t thank you for your help any other way. Though I’m surprised you managed to snag the Kirijo empress herself.”

The tone was that sort of uncle-like joking around that instantly took the tension out of the situation, which Mitsuru and Yukiko would only be grateful for. The aforementioned heiress realised his whole interrogation spiel was actually a façade; there was no way he wouldn’t have heard of her, surely. Yukiko smiled over at the redhead, who turned a fetching shade of claret in response to Dojima’s wording “If you heard about how she got my attention, you’d think it was ridiculous and straight out of a movie script or something.”

Dojima angled his head back and let out a laugh “Hah! Well, you are dealing with someone who might as well run Japan with all of her influence. Looks like it’s one point to the country and none for the city with this, hmm?”

Mitsuru shook her head, with a little smirk curling her lip wordlessly as she moved over to the grinning Yukiko. The two bowed to Dojima lightly, indicating their movement to leave which Nanako discerned alarmingly quickly and launched herself at the women. With a surprised yelp, the two recovered with a chuckle and wrapped their arms around Nanako in a tight hug. Dojima flashed the two a smile and nodded his head “Thanks again. Oh, and Kirijo-san? Sorry about that. Feel free to visit whenever you’d like.”

“I think I will do just that, Dojima-san. See you.”

Dojima and Nanako waved with varying degrees of speed as the couple left. The household would remain quite excitable as the girl told Dojima all about what Mitsuru had said to her well until her bedtime.


	8. That's a Big Step Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gets a touch NSFW at the start fyi.

The walk to the bus stop was quiet; few were out on the streets of the old Central Shopping District and that suited the couple just fine. The weather was chilly, and the night was beginning to creep in, and so Yukiko linked arms with Mitsuru.

She giggled, looking over at her “So, marriage already hmm?”

“Wh-Wha-?! That was just—I wasn’t serious.”

“Well, if you weren’t, it’s still very nice that you’d consider it so soon. But _maybe_ give this more time first,” Yukiko chuckled, briefly resting her head on Mitsuru’s shoulder “Nanako has that habit of asking people if they’re gonna get married lately.”

“Ah, I see. What was the deal with Rise and Kanji anyway?”

“Don’t forget Naoto— and, uh, I don’t know, we never really ask what the underclassmen are up to. It’s better we don’t, I think.”

“Suits me fine,” Mitsuru answered with the bus stop in sight.

The ride back to the inn was a little disappointing since it wasn’t packed like the first time she had taken it, but she at least got to sit beside Yukiko with the decent amount of vacant seats. There were still too many people on it for her to properly cuddle up to the younger woman, so affection had to wait til they were back at the Inn. _Much_ later in fact.

Mitsuru was told by Yukiko that she’d make an attempt to see her at around midnight. So she was reading in one of the more expensive rooms that the Amagi Inn let out to visitors under a small light, when the quietest tap on the wood beside the sliding paper door sounded out. The redhead set her book aside, sitting upright and softly calling out “Come in.”

Sure enough, it was carefully slid open to reveal Yukiko, dressed in bedclothes but looking ever alert and in fact—a little nervous. Easing it closed behind her, she walked over and sat herself down beside the heiress on the futon, cuddling up to her “I’m glad you stayed up for me.”

“Anything you wish, I’ll do,” was the simple answer. Yukiko stared at her for a moment before scooting closer, grabbing her face on either side and planting a deep kiss on her lips. The heiress adjusted her position so that she could draw the kiss out, making sure she could wrap her arms around the younger woman.  Before she could do anything else, the kiss was broken though even still her breath was taken away by the fire brimming in Yukiko’s eyes.

“Is something wrong?” she murmured lowly, weaving her fingers through black silk.

“I… I was thinking about something earlier,” the other began, inching closer and toying with that one lock of Mitsuru’s hair that curled into a little ringlet “…when we were in the limo and you got nervous when I got too excited.”

“Y…Yeah?” The unsure tone filtering into Mitsuru’s voice made the girl a touch worried, but she didn’t let it show.

“You don’t like the idea of being vulnerable, do you? I don’t blame you, and I’m not pushing you into anything; if that’s the case, then what we _can_ do is…” Yukiko gently pushed Mitsuru back on the futon and perched on her, mimicking her position from the limousine “…you can do all you like to me, and if you’re unsure, I’ll talk you through it.”

The redhead looked up at her, a hesitant question attempting to form though the immense relief that she didn’t have to expose herself didn’t go amiss either. Being able to sound out what this was all about before she herself would have to experience it sounded like a great idea. She pondered over it, hands gliding slowly up and down Yukiko’s thighs, until they eventually decided to move up under her clothes and onto the skin of her slender waist, murmuring “Very well.”

With a gasp, as cold fingers brushed over her warm waist, the Amagi girl leaned down and whispered into her ear “We have to be quiet; that’s the only thing.”

A little voice within the Kirijo’s head noted with amusement that only Yukiko would really have to worry about making any sort of noise here. Their kiss was a little more vivacious than before, and Yukiko’s mouth remained mere inches from Mitsuru’s even after breaking it, whispering “Your hands can go further up, you know.”

Silently acknowledging that suggestion as more of an order, Mitsuru obeyed, her fingers easing upwards towards her chest. There was an encouraging gasp as they brushed over her bare chest, and Yukiko leaned into her touch, gripping her shoulders. The heiress had to stop for a moment, simply admiring the arch of Yukiko’s back and how mere contact in the right place would make her yield so much. Indeed, that was the sort that scared her so much to receive; she certainly held immense feelings for the girl twisting in her grasp, but Mitsuru still genuinely didn’t know if she could really open herself up like that just yet. Holding hands, linking arms and sharing a kiss—that was one thing, giving her body to her was another.

“Try—Try p-pinching them?” was the breathy question that snapped Mitsuru out of her thought train, to see Yukiko opening up her bed shirt and exposing her chest in full. Well **that** was certainly one way to go forward—very far forward, she mentally added as a warm blush filled her cheeks.

“ _Pinch_ them? Pinch what?” the redhead mumbled, hesitating with wide eyes as her hands pulled away. Yukiko huffed in frustration and guided her hands back to her breasts, bending the fingers and thumbs so that they pinched her nipples and then the skin around it in demonstration.

“ _There_ ,” she sighed, face already quite flush from jumping into the thick of things. Mitsuru gulped, watching the dim light accentuating the curves and dips of the Amagi girl’s upper body, from her neck to her bellybutton. Feeling oddly emboldened by this show, she wordlessly continued to pinch the younger woman’s sensitive skin, even leaning in to nip gently at the valley of her breasts—something that didn’t go without an appreciative sound being let out by the recipient.

Mitsuru continued like that for what felt like at least an hour, but had only been a couple of minutes, teeth and tongue on autopilot at Yukiko’s chest while her hands hovered around the elasticated waistband that kept the rest of her bedclothes on, waiting for any further instruction. Not that there was much in that department, with Yukiko murmuring nothing in particular into her scalp, arms draped over her shoulders. This time, hesitating didn’t seem to fit here. The Kirijo woman quelled her nerves, and slowly moved her hand around to Yukiko’s stomach, pointed her fingers downwards, and oh so gradually slid them under the elastic line. She kept a keen ear out, in case Yukiko felt this was far too fast for her.

“So you wanna go further…?”

Mitsuru leaned back, and her eyes met half-lidded obsidian that shone golden with the tiny light in the room. Yukiko sat up, head craning back towards the door for a moment and oh how lovely the lighting illuminated her neck, garnet eyes trailing down back to where she intended to explore next.

“Alright, but you can’t just… jump straight **_in_** there. You have to know when I’m—when I’m _ready_ ,” she murmured, now moving so that she was kneeling over Mitsuru, inching down the bottom half of her pyjamas revealing plain white underwear with a tiny black bow on the front, straight down from her bellybutton. It was rather precious; the heiress had to admit, admiring the little decoration as Yukiko pulled her long legs out of her pants.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked, casting her eyes upwards at the Amagi girl who assumed her position on her once again “If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll stop.”

Funny how it was Mitsuru asking this question instead. Yukiko merely nodded, taking her hand and turning it palm-upwards, guiding it slowly to the crux of her legs as the redhead’s eyes slowly widened. The girl was blushing, but the heiress was probably another shade of claret darker in her cheeks. This was the first time her hands had even touched a sensitive, private place of a human body in this manner (even counting her own) despite the thin layer of material preventing direct contact. Yukiko whimpered a little and moved her hips down and forward towards her when Mitsuru experimentally glided her fingertips up and down “M-Move them further, try—try tracing… tracing circles—oh _God_ , like that.”

She didn’t go too quickly, cautious what with that noise Yukiko let out bordering a little too much on the audible side. The material was feeling damp; was this what she meant by being ready? Obviously Mitsuru had done plenty of reading on biology and human reproduction, but when it came to sex or intimacy simply because of how strongly the participants felt for each other, well… she was very green to it. Yukiko said she had a better idea of how it worked, but she wasn’t entirely sure if that was the case if she was _this_ delicate.

There was a sharp gasp that was far too loud to really disguise the context behind it. Mitsuru’s eyes shot upwards at Yukiko, who covered her mouth and quivered “May-Maybe we should stop. I really don’t trust myself to be quiet…”

“That’s fine,” Mitsuru whispered, pulling her hands away from the danger zone and simply holding her close, kissing her collarbone “If you can wait for me, I don’t see why I can’t do the same for you.”

“Thanks,” she giggled, becoming a little shy as the heady feeling ebbed from her mind, leaving her a little self-conscious as she got off of Mitsuru and pulled together her discarded clothes “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yukiko?”

She might as well get these three words off her chest, seeing as they’ve already moved quite earnestly into the next phase of their relationship.

“Yeah?”

Here goes nothing.

“I love you.” Mitsuru swallowed with difficulty, staring over at the Amagi girl now at the door and dressed for bed. She figured it was high time to say something of such weight, considering they had already gotten to the stage of touching each other (well, it was just her touching Yukiko right now).

Ebony hair tossed to and fro as grey eyes creased with a wide smile and glistened, full to the brim of that happy little emotion “I love you too.”

And that was that, as she was left to sleep.

* * *

 

“Hey you guys.”

“Huh—oh, Chie! How goes it?” Yosuke perked up from his seat, sitting upright as the tired martial artist plodded over to take her seat “Whoa, I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you look… really awful. Awfully tired, I mean.”

“Ughhh, that’s cos I am. Hey Yu,” she mumbled, waving over at the silver-haired young man “Your uncle’s a hard worker and kind of a slave driver, and so’s Akihiko-san. Between Monday catching up on his paperwork and training with Akihiko yesterday, I feel like a truck hit me.”

“You’ll get better,” Yu replied optimistically, nodding. At his side sat a very excited Nanako, kicking her legs as she sat forward and sang the Junes theme song. Yosuke winced and scratched at his neck where his headphones itched.

“What’s got you all excited, Nanako-chan?” Chie asked, plonking her rear down painfully. Yu and Yosuke had to wince at the metallic thud. Yu also gave his young cousin a stern look, as if watching what she was about to say carefully.

“When you went to help Dad, Yukiko visited me,” she started off, nodding as her pigtails bounced along with her head “And she brought a friend too!”

“Huh…? But who else could’ve…”

“N-Nanako-chan, don’t you think you should probably keep that a secret?” Yosuke asked, with a pained look on his face, hoping the girl would catch his drift and speak no more. Chie was immediately suspicious, watching Yosuke like a hawk.

“Nanako, who was that with Yukiko?”

“No one bad, that’s for sure!” Nanako giggled, bobbing back and forth “You shouldn’t be angry. Kirijo-san is really nice; she said she’d play with me if Dad or big bro can’t!”

“Kirijo-san, huh… And was your Dad okay with her being there?” Chie asked, hiding whatever her true feelings on the matter with remarkable ease. The girl rapidly nodded, smiling up at her elder with nothing but genuine delight “Yeah! He said I can go stay with her in Port Island if Yukiko’s there too! Actually, I think they went there today.”

Yu and Yosuke by this point had pretty much given up trying to conceal anything from Chie, even if Yukiko asked them to, simply by how Nanako was unwittingly doing her absolute level best to thwart them.

“They said I can come visit the next time they’re there though since they wanna hang out together more first. I have to stay here for now, but that’s okay because big bro’s here too!” the girl beamed, clapping her hands together and looking up at her cousin, who reciprocated the smile but a lot more low-key.

Yosuke was beginning to fear for Nanako’s life the way Chie’s face turned.

“That’s good—that you’re in high spirits,” she started, struggling not to let out a huff “Geez though, Yukiko could’ve freaking told me that she was vanishing off to Port Island _again_.”

Yu and Yosuke shared a look, and the silvery-haired young man looked at his blissfully unaware cousin “Nanako, mind hanging out with Yosuke for a bit? I want to talk to Chie about something.”

The look that Yosuke gave him radiated gratitude for not sticking him with a very angry Chie whose calm façade was beginning to slowly crumble away, as Yu gently took the martial artist by the shoulder and guided her away towards the furniture section of Junes. Thankfully empty save for the staff, the Investigation Team’s leader stopped there and turned to face her “Alright Chie, how do you really feel about this?”

The girl balled her hands into fists and almost swung at an unfortunate pile of pillows, roaring “I’m so ANGRY! That’s how I feel, dammit! Look, I told Yukiko I was fine with whatever she was gonna do with Mitsuru but— ** _argh_**! My head says it’s fine but my heart’s just a knot of rage now that they’re freakin’ disappearing off the radar and not telling me anything.”

She paused, shaking a little, looking so much smaller and sadder than mere seconds ago “Yukiko just said that she’s going away for a couple of days and when she comes back she wants to talk to me about something—and I think it’s safe to assume it’s about this. What a way to find out, huh?”

“You said it was okay,” Yu began, folding his arms but giving her a sympathetic look “but I understand. You know that Nanako doesn’t know what subtlety quite is yet.”

Chie laughed weakly, nodding “Yeah, but I can’t blame her for anything. I think though that I’m gonna have to go to Yukiko and really sit her down n’ talk. If I don’t, I probably won’t get a hold of her again.”

“Chie…” The arms dropped, one rising towards her hesitantly.

“I’ll be fine. Just don’t try to stop me okay? I’ve got enough free time to travel over there and stuff without getting in trouble with Dojima. I just wanna talk this out with Yukiko.”

No words on what she’d be doing to Mitsuru, but Yu opted to keep silent even if his instincts begged him to try curbing her rage. From the sounds of things, there was no way in hell that she’d listen to him there, since she’d be so far away from the others.

“Don’t be too long, and don’t get too distracted, okay? I’ll tell my uncle if you take longer than two or three days,” Yu replied, a hint of a joke in his voice when it concerned Dojima. Chie nodded again, looking a lot more lively “I won’t, so don’t make your uncle throw more paperwork at me!”

I might have to, if you’re about to do what I think you are, Narukami pondered uneasily. As always though, his stoic expression hid his thinking well. The two returned to the food court where Teddie was back in his suit waving advertisements for deals on spicy food for the winter season, and Yosuke chatting to Nanako. He breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw Chie a lot mellower than a few minutes beforehand “So, you two okay?”

“Yeah, looks like I’ll be gone for a day or two starting from this evening onwards.”

“What? What’re you up to?” Yosuke asked, curious.

“I’m gonna go to Port Island, duh.”

“ ** _What_**!? Why?” he almost screeched, leaping to his feet. Nanako winced, pinky finger in her ear. Yu rubbed his neck with a silent sigh.

“Gonna talk to Yukiko, duh,” Chie shrugged, blinking innocently at him. Yosuke grit his teeth and put his palm to his face.

“You know what, never mind.”

“Is that so? Well, see you on Sunday!” she chirped abruptly, bolting her way home to furiously pack and run to the train station.

“Dude, was that really a good idea?”

“Honestly, there was no convincing her to not go.”

“If Chie gets done for murder, you and Dojima are gonna get a helluva lot of flak.”

“Oh come _on_ Yosuke, quit overreacting. You’re scaring Nanako.”

* * *

 

“Uh, what’s the deal Naoto? Why’re we here?”

“I was just informed by our senpai that Chie’s gone to Port Island to find Yukiko,” the diminutive detective stated, looking rather grim “You do understand what might happen if she were to find Kirijo-san first, correct?”

“Oh god, she’ll kick her ass!” Rise exclaimed, immediately worried “Do you want us to chase her?”

“Goodness no, it’s far too late for any decisive action of that sort. We have to be very careful here. I fear that in trying to secure a powerful ally by encouraging Yukiko to get to know Mitsuru we’ve jeopardised the friendship with a closer one.”

Naoto sunk down in her seat, perched on the bench by the Samegawa flood plain with night drawing in “And I had hoped Chie wouldn’t be too angry. I had deduced that she and Yukiko have a very intense friendship—“

“Tch, yeah, like we dunno if they’re just friends or they went over that line beforehand. Although I kinda think…” the idol trailed off, tapping her chin thoughtfully “Y’know she wouldn’t have reacted so badly to this, if what Senpai said was true about her being okay with them initially, if they were just friends.”

“That’s a fair point,” Naoto nodded, peeping over her clasped hands “There’s obviously more than amiable feelings at work here. Which is unfortunate, since I hear Yukiko and Kirijo-san have been nigh-on inseparable. This was much like how she used to be with Chie previously.”

“So…” Kanji clued in “She’s basically really jealous of Mitsuru, right?”

“Sure sounds like it,” sighed Rise sadly, all but collapsing over the simple wooden table dejectedly “I really don’t want things to get too serious. Who knows what’ll happen?”

“What, y’think Chie’s gonna fight Mitsuru?” Kanji snorted, sitting back and scratching his jaw “Worried she’s gonna get messed up by their Yakuza after daring to bruise her or somethin’?”

“Extremely unlikely,” Naoto quickly interjected before Rise even opened her mouth “Mitsuru genuinely cares about Yukiko, and even if Chie were to attack her, I believe Mitsuru would do absolutely nothing to her. Now allies of hers would be a different thing altogether. Akihiko could be vital in mediating, but we’ve no means of contacting him.”

“Does Kirijo-san s-seriously run a Yakuza?” the idol meekly asked after a long pause, wide amber-gold eyes fluttering at the former delinquent.

“S-Stop lookin’ at me like that, dammit! I’m just saying Kirijo owns a shitload of stuff. Yakuza just seems right to me,” he answered, flustered and blushing.

“Are you two going to assist or not?” Naoto barked, frustrated with their wild straying off topic which certainly snapped their attention back onto her “We need to focus on doing some form of damage control, whatever possible. I’m not going to speculate on dealings the Kirijo may or may not be doing.”

“Sorry. I really hope no one gets hurt in all this though…”

“You makin’ moony eyes at Mitsuru when she was brought to Junes makes me wonder a little,” snorted Kanji, smirking as the idol shrieked and slapped his arm.

“Kanji, shut the hell up! I was just greeting her, gosh.”

“We’ll never get any progress at this rate—stop teasing each other already!”


	9. Juxtaposition and Reconciliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos thus far everyone! This chapter is extra long to make up for the drought of updates lately.

Mitsuru had been a lot bolder about their relationship, now that they were back on Kirijo turf. Yukiko noticed that precious few people double-glanced at the heiress’ arm around her waist, and those who did looked away very quickly with a streak of fear in their faces when she presumed the redhead shot back with a blood-chilling stare. Definitely something that wouldn’t happen in Inaba, so it was probably the whole Kirijo thing that warded them off from even looking at them remotely disapprovingly.

A part of her honestly liked the lavish attention the Kirijo woman rained on her (even with her complaints of the limo), but another wondered if it was really wise to even think of getting used to it. Yukiko quickly ignored the ominous thought idly floating about asking if it’s the promise of _being whisked away_ and treated like a _Princess_ should be. The very tangent left a bad taste in her mouth, and she quickly shooed it away, but… she just got taken to a _classical concert_ , for heaven’s sake.

Her ears were still ringing pleasantly with the reverb of the percussion and the strings as Mitsuru took her to the roof of the building to admire the setting sun. The sky was an array of purples, pinks, reds and oranges, and they only complemented the heiress’ fiery hair. The effect was quite breath-taking, really, causing a swell of feelings within the Amagi girl that made her hold her close.

And when Mitsuru—the strong, confident leader of the Kirijo Group—gave her a gentle, _humble_ smile, that only cemented that urge to bury her face in the crook of her neck and just forget about the rest of the world. Even the dark afterthought had been thoroughly banished with such a simple gesture.

“Mitsuru…?”

“What is it?”

Yukiko looked up, not even bothering to look and see if anyone was eavesdropping “Y’know what happened back at the Inn?”

“Mm,” the redhead murmured, kissing her temple and resting the side of her head against hers.

“I… I gotta be honest. It wasn’t just me being afraid my parents would hear us,” she paused, only to nuzzle gently back at Mitsuru “It was… There was a little part of me afraid of, y’know, just going all the way.”

She could feel the heiress thumb stroke her hip through her clothes thoughtfully and quietly, allowing her to continue on “I thought I had the confidence for it but I guess I just wasn’t quite that ready.”

“I can wait.”

Yukiko smiled “Thought you’d say that.”

“I can’t already be getting predictable,” Mitsuru chuckled, quirking a thin brow “We haven’t nearly been together that long.”

“I know, I know!” the girl laughed, nudging her in the side before adopting a more flirtatious expression, tinged red in her cheeks “If… you want though, we can do it again later. None of your staff’ll disturb us, right?”

“Not unless I outright tell them to disturb us of course. But are you sure?”

“I can trust you, so it’s more than okay.”

The heiress stared at her for a moment, holding her waist and then drawing her close, kissing her delicately. Not a word was uttered by her, none were needed after all. Their noses brushed by each other as they drew back, garnet red matching deep charcoal grey. Yukiko rested her forehead against Mitsuru’s, whispering “I love you.”

Academically gifted as Mitsuru was, she was now unable to find the right words to succinctly capture how strongly she felt. All she did was go hug the girl tightly, burying her face in her shoulder as if the girl was going to be suddenly taken away from her. A muffled reciprocation of her words and Yukiko just smiled serenely, kissing her ear “Let’s go back home, hmm?”

 _Home_? Konohana Sakuya inquired cheekily, suddenly. When did Port Island become home? _I suppose home is where the heart is, after all_.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The journey home (Yukiko shushed a giddy chuckle from Sakuya) was remarkably restrained, the ever beleaguered chauffeur looking in his mirror meekly as the sheer tension between Mitsuru and Yukiko even fed into the air. The two of them never broke eye contact, smiling at each other while their hands closest to the other began toying around together, tracing lines, circles, words of love and a little bit of lust as it grew between them.

The minute they were in the door, not even Aigis’ limbs would be strong enough to pry them apart.

Bruising kisses punctuated the sound of backs hitting against the walls of the corridor as they slowly made their way to the master bedroom, Mitsuru usually trying to be the one pinning Yukiko when the Amagi girl was giving damn near as good as she got. Eventually though, the heiress won out and all but threw Yukiko onto her bed, advancing on the equally as fired up young woman with fingers curling and uncurling for the want to run through black silk hair.

She hesitated but for a second as she watched Yukiko sit up and almost _rip off_ her shirt, certainly far more eager what with the knowledge that they wouldn’t be disturbed in the slightest. The look in her eyes brimmed with a fire that robbed the older woman of breath. A reassuring smile dispelled the redhead’s reluctance, and she was atop of Yukiko now, applying her recently learned knowledge to great effect. Mitsuru’s fingers wove across her stomach, hands pulling her arched body closer to her lips, teeth and tongue, encouraged by delighted little whimpers—she could tell Yukiko was smiling through them.

Carefully peeling off her bra and tossing both loosened articles to the side, Mitsuru returned to her ministrations, unable to stop a grin from spreading across her face as she felt Yukiko’s fingers running through her hair and let out a long drawn out sigh. She couldn’t quite progress with the whole thing without moving up for a kiss and a look of approval first—in doing so, they caught each other’s eye and the weighty feeling that swirled wonderfully in the heiress’ stomach when Yukiko’s eyes had that glint—softer yet still retaining that _edge_ —to them could’ve knocked her off her feet.

Good thing she was on all fours hovering over Yukiko then, wasn’t it?

“This time, you can go further,” she breathed, looking up at Mitsuru and brushing a lock of crimson red hair out of her face while her other hand fiddled with the buttons on the side of her skirt, hoping the heiress would get the hint. That she did, helping Yukiko out of her clothes and there was that last boundary once again. She eyed it for a moment, before focusing on the bigger picture that was Yukiko almost naked and sprawled on her bed beneath her. The power coursed through her veins, and thus with purpose she leaned back down and continued where they had stopped from the Amagi Inn, fingers tracing all sorts of shapes against the material that soon yielded keening cries. Those only got louder the more deliberate her caresses became, as her mouth inched its way downwards between her breasts.

“Mi-Mitsuru,” Yukiko groaned, gasping in between staggered syllables “You can—You can take them off now.”

Hmm? Oh right, her underwear. Unable to refuse Yukiko in pretty much any shape or form in that moment, Mitsuru obeyed, a blush filling her face once again, hooking her fingers around the material and lightly pulling them down. She set them aside, and looked back at the bed. The sight was _heavenly_. The Amagi girl was slender, built lightly with gorgeous long legs that Mitsuru was already somewhat familiar with, even if most of the time they were hiding through tights. There was a light dusting of pink in her cheeks and around her collarbone, sculpted with subtlety as if Bernini himself had a hand in doing so. The Kirijo heiress encroached on her again, eyes full of fondness and reverence which certainly didn’t go unnoticed by the girl below her.

“…if I said you were beautiful, that somehow doesn’t feel like it’s enough. I know a few languages, but no words in any of them capture you the way I want them to,” Mitsuru murmured, finger gliding across one clavicle as the light lit it softly. She kissed her slowly and deeply, Yukiko feeling the full force of Mitsuru’s love for her through that rough kiss alone nearly, bracing her weight onto her shins and one hand as the other trailed down between their bodies. Yukiko’s hands ran through rivers of crimson, breathlessly trying to match Mitsuru until suddenly she gasped, breaking the kiss and looking at a newly confident heiress “…Mitsuru?”

“I won’t do anything until you tell me to,” she murmured, softly pressing her lips against the Amagi girl’s jaw. Yukiko let out an airy whimper, nuzzling into her.

“Then you have my full permission. Just—Just be careful p-putting your fingers in.”

Mitsuru’s eyes widened, though she nodded anyway, her stray hand continuing beyond where it had stopped at Yukiko’s bellybutton and back to where the last boundary had been reached. It felt a lot different without some cotton in the way, and the heiress’ fingers moved a lot slower as she frowned at the odd new sensation. However, what reluctance she had was quickly dispelled by Yukiko’s volume increasing twofold—and she hadn’t even dared to slip her fingers in yet.

She felt nails digging in through her clothes, watching the girl beneath her writhe simply because of a few digits touching one little place. It was fascinating to her, really, the tiny part of her that wasn’t yet overcome by how much she felt for Yukiko and how strongly it made her feel that she was allowed to do this to her—to see her bare and wanton and **_god_** moaning her _name_ too. Mitsuru had to strain to hear the little pleas of ‘more’, and she could only obey, cautiously sliding one finger in.

The heiress had to marvel at indescribably wonderful it felt to watch Yukiko’s jaw hang open, her pretty eyes flutter shut and her body push downwards against her hand. She would’ve stopped to drink in the view some more, if not for the Amagi girl’s continued, hushed appeals. Simply stunning, Mitsuru thought, as she kissed just under Yukiko’s collarbone over her heart.

“Curl it,” she breathed between long groans “curl it while you’re moving it in.”

The redhead did just that, and the younger woman almost arched clean off the bed with a lusty gasp of her name. Slowly, Mitsuru’s thumb swirled about above her finger’s busy action, and the nails that once dug in started clawing at her back in earnest now. All she knew was this strange tightening sensation around her finger, while Yukiko’s body thrashed in what only she could guess were the throes of her orgasm and cried out a mess of the syllables that made up the Kirijo woman’s name.

The girl splayed out her limbs flat across the bed, spent and pleasantly exhausted. The only thing that moved was the almighty heaving of her chest for air, her eyes closed. Mitsuru retracted her finger, wiping it on the edge of her sheets, staring at the tired Yukiko with wide eyes.

“…Yukiko?”

“ _Wow_ ,” she sighed, smiling dreamily. The sight of it restored confidence in the heiress; she did something right tonight. Leaning down and planting a kiss on the girl’s lips, Mitsuru began tenderly stroking her cheek with her other hand.

“I take it you enjoyed it.”

“Yeah… No one’s—No one’s made me—well— _come_ , basically,” Yukiko murmured, weak hands resting on Mitsuru’s waist “That’s…that’s the first time for me; I never did that sort of stuff with someone else.”

“So it wasn’t just a learning experience for me?” Mitsuru chuckled, smiling down at her. She slowly tucked her hands, then arms, underneath Yukiko and held her close, closing her eyes and just taking her in. Black tresses shook about, their owner letting out a faint laugh, the thrum of it felt through Mitsuru’s lips on her shoulder.

“No, no. It’s one for us both.”

“Somehow… that makes this all feel even more special,” the heiress pondered aloud, before gradually, reluctantly getting up to her feet and heading towards the door. “Ah, p-please pardon me for a moment.”

“Wh-Where are you going?”

“I got a message from Akihiko earlier saying he’d be in town late, back from a tour of the US West Coast, and he wanted to talk to me about a few ideas for the Operatives while he had them fresh in mind. I won’t be too long, but don’t wait up on me either.” She walked back over to the bed, taking a hold of Yukiko’s hand, kissing it and then kissing her “You should get to sleep.”

She seemed a little glum, charcoal eyes glancing downwards as she sat up. Mitsuru softly took a hold of her chin and made eye contact with her “I promise, okay? This will be the only time I run out on you like this. It won’t happen again.”

“Guess more cuddling will have to wait til later,” Yukiko joked half-heartedly, shrugging her shoulders lightly. Mitsuru said nothing, simply grabbing her into a tight hug as if to both make up for that and apologise all at the same time. The Amagi girl reciprocated it just as urgently, loathe to part from her after something so wonderfully intimate. With a sad smile, she waved Mitsuru goodbye for the moment, and set about getting ready to sleep, reluctantly.

* * *

 

Strange, Akihiko said he’d meet her at about 10pm at Iwatodai Station.

He was nowhere to be seen, so to pass the time, Mitsuru ambled about the streets in its vicinity, hoping she’d catch sight of the silvery-haired boxer soon. Few people passed by, late-night commuters coming through for their shift, people hurrying home from a dinner out, and all regarded the heiress with general disinterest. Which suited her just fine, she wasn’t in the mood to be noticed by anyone.

With a weary sigh, she plucked out her phone and started flicking through for Akihiko’s number. Mitsuru prayed that he wasn’t on one of his adventures since he tended to forget something as important as this, especially if he was going around Japan. She continued to amble down the street, and as she passed an alleyway she was faintly aware of running steps.

Running steps that were approaching her at speed, and she looked up just a little too late to be met with a foot to the jaw, knocking her to the ground with her phone skittering away.

Dizzy, holding her head and trying to clamber back up, the Kirijo CEO tried to get a focus on who the hell just randomly attacked her. Except now…it didn’t seem so arbitrary when she recognised the green jersey striped yellow and the short, light-brown hair.

“Sa…Satonaka?” she mumbled, holding her aching jaw “What’re you doing here?”

“I think you know **_damn_** well why I’m here!” her attacker shrilled, hopping between her feet in a dangerous, attacking posture. The heiress pulled herself to her feet, shaking the fuzz from her head.

“Don’t do this,” Mitsuru warned, her voice with a curious edge which surprised even her as she regained clarity of vision and a real sense that Chie was threatening her “I don’t think Yukiko would want you to—“

“Don’t you **DARE** tell me what you think she’d want!”

A stray cat overturned a bin cover with a loud clang as it fled from the mighty roar the furious martial artist let out. Very aware that the bristling Chie had no intention of backing down no matter what sound explanations for why she should were offered by the heiress, Mitsuru grimly decided that she would have to remain on the defensive _and_ evasive. Good thing too, as Chie lashed out with another kick that would’ve knocked her completely unconscious if not for her ducking underneath and watching the leg sail over her head.

A few more followed, and Mitsuru weaved around them as much as she could with the help of Artemisia within, the odd graze of Chie’s limb catching her clothes.

“How did you even know we were gone?” she muttered, mostly to herself but in her mild daze she made it more audible than she wanted to.

“Because Nanako-chan was so kind to spill it, that’s how!” the Inaba native shouted, preparing for her next strike. Mitsuru stumbled, like a deer in the headlights and just as shocked, having expected Kujikawa or even Tatsumi to have perhaps blurted it out before that sweet little girl. Her brief hesitance was enough of a window of opportunity that she succumbed to the next swing that Chie took, a sharp knee to the stomach, crumpling to the ground again completely winded.

The wrathful girl began to raise up her leg, preparing an axe kick that would render the heiress completely incapacitated, when a huge weight took her clean off of her feet, pinning her to the wall. Chie thrashed around, until the silvery glint of the man’s hair in a nearby streetlight revealed his identity as her mentor and Mitsuru’s best friend.

“Chie, **_what the hell are you doing_**?”

There was no kindness in his voice, just a steely wariness skewed with restrained anger barely bubbling through furious eyes. The silence that fell was immense, with only Mitsuru’s coughing punctuating the dead quiet. Chie stared, her rage ebbing away when confronted by Akihiko.

“I want you to calm down, and don’t do anything aggressive or I’ll have to use force for real. Now take a deep breath, and tell me what the hell this is all about.”

He stepped back, hurrying over to the redhead’s side and helping her to her feet, checking her over and looking at what damage was already dealt. Chie stood by, wringing out the end of her jersey, anger diffused and only a feeling of shame and dread subbing in for it as she watched Mitsuru weakly reassure Akihiko she was fine and push him away.

The boxer stood between the two women, ever alert in case Chie decided to spring another assault on the heiress. He gave her a stern look and a nod, waiting for her to explain to him her reasons for doing what she did, until Mitsuru lightly patted his arm “Akihiko, can we go back to the house and do this?”

“…Alright, it is pretty cold out here. I want the whole story though when we do, okay Chie?”

“Yeah,” she answered, lowering her head dejectedly.

The ride back to the mansion was laden with a silent tension, Akihiko sitting between Chie and Mitsuru. The young man fussed over the heiress, inspecting a mild bruise forming on her face and checking her stomach which betrayed an awful redness too. He frowned; the martial artist apprenticed to him had an incredible kick. Well, needless to say trying to explain this to Ms Amagi without her exploding was going to be a difficult task indeed.

Pulling up, Akihiko had a plan of action—he’d put Chie and Yukiko in the same room while he’d do something about the marks Mitsuru sustained, and then he’d go back in and make sure Chie was being honest telling Yukiko what’d happened. But judging by how quickly Mitsuru bolted indoors with the urge to see her again so mighty, it’d seem she had other ideas.

He kept an eye on the guilty-looking girl walking beside him as they entered the vast home. Chie would’ve been more impressed had she not been the one responsible for assaulting the owner of the place, hanging her head and wincing as an alarmed screech of “What happened to you!?” echoed around the hall from upstairs.

Back in the master bedroom, Mitsuru cringed as Yukiko fervently inspected her sore jaw, angling the heiress’ head back with one hand—the other clutching the bedroom robe around herself— and furrowing her brow “Were you attacked? Did Akihiko-san not help you?”

“H-He did, but he was a little late. I’m fine, really.”

The Amagi girl drew closer, very carefully holding her face and pointing it to her so that she held eye contact “Please.” She stroked red hair out of the older woman’s eyes “Tell me who did this to you.”

Heavy footsteps approached the room, and in walked Akihiko shortly followed by a very reluctant Chie. Mitsuru glanced at the two, before slowly gesturing a shocked Yukiko towards Chie “…she did.”

“…Is that why you’re here, Chie?” An ominous roll of thunder, not by nature outside, but by Yukiko—she was livid, the anger slowly gathering itself around her like a terrifying aura. “ _I thought you told me you were_ **fine** _with this_.”

“I thought I was,” she whimpered, causing the build of rage to momentarily halt in her best friend “I really did, until I heard that you kept disappearing off with her without telling me and I just felt like such an afterthought. That and I guess there’s still a big part of me jealous about the whole thing, and how you two are so close together when it used to be us being best friends for life.”

“I don’t blame you for acting the way you did,” Mitsuru spoke up, surprising the two Inaba girls. She made a quiet request for some ice that Akihiko hurriedly obeyed, snatching some out of a mini fridge, wrapping it in a thin towel and handing it to her. As the heiress pressed it to her jaw, she continued with some difficulty “I have been unfairly whisking her away from you, I suppose.”

Yukiko was not as lenient.

“It doesn’t matter how damn jealous you are about this; there’s **_no excuse_** for attacking her on the street!” she hissed, moving towards Chie “I thought you were better than that. I was planning on talking to you about this when I got back to Inaba, but you had to snap first and come here just to beat her up? Did you consider how I might’ve felt about that once?”

To her credit, Chie endured the tirade without raising her voice to object. She simply watched Yukiko well and truly in the midst of a raging rant with a regretful look on her face. To Akihiko, it sure looked like she’d already started questioning what she did before she even set foot in the mansion, and Chie feeling guilty about this was good enough for him. He’d forgive her, seeing as Mitsuru previously did, but it looked like Yukiko would take some time to come around to that too.

“Mitsuru tried to tell me that but I wouldn’t listen. I’m sorry.”

“…I can’t believe this,” Yukiko sighed, putting a hand over her forehead and turning away to check on the Kirijo’s injuries again “Was that trip here really worth doing this?”

It was rhetorical a question, she’d gone from rage to disappointment at her best friend and decided a better use of her time wasn’t shouting at Chie but checking over Mitsuru. Chie swallowed a lump in her throat as she glanced over at the tenderness Yukiko shared with the redhead, unable to look much longer when her best friend went to kiss the woman’s forehead softly.

“Satonaka.”

“Huh?” Chie looked over, seeing that the heiress was staring at her.

“You might as well stay here for the night. I’ll assume you didn’t make arrangements at a hotel or a hostel.”

“N…No, I didn’t.”

“That settles it, then.” She smiled, and it was a genuine one empty of any possible grudge that she should probably have, according to Chie. It simply made her feel worse about what she had done, an unpleasant nausea settling in her formed purely by remorse. Yukiko’s look of disillusionment just exacerbated it. Akihiko walked over to her, and patted her shoulder “I’ll get you to a room. C’mon.”

Listlessly, she let the boxer take her out of the room and through the corridors until he opened up a door and ushered her in. The martial artist sat on the edge of the bed with a weary sigh “Ugh, I’m such an idiot. I can’t believe Mitsuru’s being so freaking nice to me—I don’t deserve that.”

“It’s because she understands why you did what you did. Doesn’t mean you were right, we both know that, but y’know what I mean. She’ll be fine, just as long as you don’t do that again.”

“Don’t think I will,” Chie muttered, head resting on her palm propped up on her elbow “I don’t want to make Yukiko that angry at me again.”

“There was probably a better way of going about this, but at least now they’re aware that they’re getting a bit much with the way they steal off like that. Tiny victory, so don’t let this hang on your shoulders.”

“I know you’re trying to help me feel better,” she murmured “but I let my anger get the better of me.”

“And that’ll be what we work on at our next training session!” Akihiko exclaimed, patting her shoulder with a grin “For now rest up, and tomorrow we can figure out when we can have our next class, hmm?”

“Alright,” Chie nodded, sighing again “Sorry for causing such a mess.”

“The mess is sorted out. I’ll go talk to Yukiko and Mitsuru about it if you still feel like they might be angry.”

“Will you?”

He gave her a soft smile “Of course. Goodnight, Chie.”

“’Night Akihiko-san.”

* * *

 

The next day, Chie woke with the most ominous swirl of butterflies in her stomach, her sleep having been restless and choppy at best. The only thing she saw in those brief dreams was a glimpse of that Shadow she thought she managed to tame into Tomoe, confirming a dreaded theory that circulated in the Mayonaka Arena. There’s no way she can let that thing resurface, the martial artist thought as she sat up slowly, wincing as her internal organs churned most unpleasantly around with nerves. Akihiko-san said he’d help her work on it, and he always stuck to his word, so she shouldn’t worry right? Right, right, she attempted to tell herself, pulling on her clothes from her hastily and sorely mistaken decision to travel to Port Island.

“You in there Chie?”

Crap. That was not the boxer’s voice at all. Hell that wasn’t even Mitsuru’s—wait—

“L…Labrys?”

“Yeah s’me. You okay? Y’dressed?” the curiously accented android asked, audibly shifting on her feet from outside. “I was chargin’ up my batteries again n’ I woke today hearin’ Akihiko chattin’ ta Yukiko. If ya wonderin’ why I’m here, well I’m jus’ visitin’. S’allowed ain’t it? Speakin’ o’ which, mind if I pay ya a visit?”

“You can come in,” Chie sighed, now decently garbed. Labrys plodded in, taking a couple of seconds to take in the plush looking guest room before realising it was largely laid out much the same as the dozens of spare rooms sitting around in the Kirijo home. She offered the girl a smile, hoping it’d reassure her even a little “Hey. You feelin’ alright now? I heard there was a bust up.”

“Yeah, but not the way you might think.”

“H-Huh? I thought you beat up someone attackin’ Mitsuru-san,” the robot replied, her expression going blank but for a furrowed brow.

“N…No, that _was_ me. I think I might’ve broken her jaw. Ugh, I should’ve listened to Yu, but trust my temper to get the better of me.” Chie let her head hang, slowly covering her face with her hands and huffing through her fingers “I’m such a screw-up.”

“Hold up now, ain’t nobody callin’ ya a screw-up!” Labrys started forward, raising her arms towards her as if reaching out, her machinery almost rattling out a human-like sigh from lungs that didn’t exist.

“You didn’t break anything on her,” a voice sounded from the hall. Both robot and human alike turned to face the source, spotting a somewhat dour looking Yukiko leaning against the frame. Chie blanched immediately, though she didn’t move back in any way, her form seemed so much smaller than her usual cheerful and boisterous self. Her friend wasn’t full of disappointment or rage this time in the slightest, simply tired from all of the excitement and conflicting emotions of the day before.

“I… didn’t?”

“You just bruised her a little. She’s not mad at you at all, but you knew that already, I think.”

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Just don’t do it again,” Yukiko sighed wearily, rubbing her tired face on the side “I know you won’t though, sorry for snapping. I should really know how your temper works by now.”

Chie baulked, tilting her head much like a confused puppy “Wait-- hold on, you weren’t in the wrong. _I_ did the damage, I reacted stupidly and I’m paying for it. Why’re you apologising?”

“For doubting you and assuming you’d keep going on that path, as well as just… not telling you anything to begin with about Mitsuru and myself.”

Labrys stood back, watching the two neutrally as her optics scanned their stances intently. Yukiko cleared whatever sleep still lazed in her eyes and offered Chie a faint smile “I was afraid you’d be mad, that’s why I didn’t tell you. But I think I just made it a little worse by not being upfront from the start.”

“That’s fine—I mean it still doesn’t excuse what I did so it’s still my fault. I’m really sorry Yukiko, I promise I’ll be much, much more supportive of both of you!” Chie chirped, responding with a wink and a thumbs up. Her best friend chuckled and simply yanked her into a wordless but grateful hug. The martial artist was surprised at first, honestly considering what had happened she assumed everything would take a lot longer to settle back into and Yukiko’d be far warier of her, but mercifully that wouldn’t come to pass. Green-clad arms slowly wrapped around the Amagi heiress and squeezed her tight briefly “Really, I’m sorry about all this. Yu warned me and he was right. It won’t happen again, I swear.”

“Chie, it’s fine now! Shush, now.” Yukiko parted from her a little, and smiled broadly now “We’re back to normal, okay? No more apologies.”

“Yeah!” her friend replied exuberantly, and the two giggled together. Labrys’ body let out a relieved jet of air as she moved to the door, smiling and glad that things were mended. Time to report back to Kirijo-san n’ Sanada-san, she thought.

“Hey Labrys, wait up! Where’re you going?”

“Huh? Jus’ gonna go back ta Mitsuru-san n’ Akihiko-san. You comin’ with?”

The two Inaba girls simply linked arms on either side of the android and, as best as they could considering she was a sentient mass of heavy metal, lead her to the room where the two former members of SEES were. The boxer was applying some ointment to the heiress, murmuring to her that it would probably take a few days to meaningfully clear up to the point where it could be hidden by makeup should she bother (he added she probably shouldn’t bother but she angrily shushed him quiet).

With Labrys’ thudding steps, which she couldn’t really help to be fair, the two turned to the trio. Mitsuru smiled briefly at Yukiko, though a touch more hesitantly at Chie “Ah, good morning, I hope—“

“We talked, it’s all good—A-Also, you can bet I won’t be smacking you around again, I’m super sorry about that.”

“There’s nothing to apologise for. It’s in the past now, so let’s move to the future together.” Mitsuru nodded, gesturing towards her. Chie blanked momentarily, but quickly moved to shake her hand with both of her own. The redhead chuckled briefly, though she hadn’t expected that response, she welcomed it heartily. That little bump in the road was left far behind, and she could count on the support of all of Yukiko’s friends now. Akihiko visibly sagged with the sigh of relief he let out, grinning and patting his student’s shoulder proudly.

“We should probably get back to Inaba,” Yukiko murmured eventually, after the general amiable chatter ended. Chie blinked “We? I thought you’d stay on a bit more.”

“Nah, my parents will probably have a big problem with it if I kept stealing away to Port Island,” Yukiko replied, shrugging slightly with a sheepish look on her face. Mitsuru nodded with a similar expression, already fiddling in her pocket for her wallet “I’ll make the necessary arrangements. You two keep out of trouble, okay?”

“Is that for me or Chie?” Yukiko quipped, gently nudging the heiress in the arm, all too aware of the sore spots on her body.

“Hey, _c’mon_ Yukiko!”


	10. Back to Inaba

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some reference to a cute fanart in the chapter here.

That incident in the streets of Iwatodai was mercifully the only time anyone out of their friends really, **literally** , kicked up a fuss about the new couple. Akihiko was glad that it died down just as quickly and abruptly as it had started, letting people get on with the things that really mattered in life. Chie had responded to training very well, and she looked to have gotten any remaining aggro out of her system via slumming it around the country for a few months. Her legs sure were a lot more sturdy than he remembered them being, recalling how she almost took a rival combatant’s head off with a leg hooked around his head, bringing him to the ground. The boxer was a proud man watching his apprentice effortlessly take them down like that, showing efficiency and finesse that she hadn't quite had before. Now even Tomoe grew greater and stronger with Chie's own improvements, and it certainly didn't go amiss by the imperial commander lurking within Akihiko himself. The two made for a dangerous duo, quickly putting to rest any hooligan type of activity and becoming somewhat renown as vigilantes on the go.

While they went on an impromptu tour of Japan, Yu went back to his parents, and Dojima was on call for a big case out of town, which meant Nanako needed to be looked after. Mitsuru and Yukiko’s relationship steadied, so they didn’t have to vanish away together so often. The detective was aware that Mitsuru was in town, since she had called ahead and said she’d drop by before going to the Inn. He figured he’d ask her then, if she’d look after Nanako for a week or more if that was required. And if Mitsuru had to get back to Port Island? Well, that meant Nanako got a nice little holiday out of it. It was a win-win.

The Dojimas were watching TV on a listless spring afternoon. It was March, and they were waiting on Mitsuru to arrive. Nanako was in high spirits, having heard from Yu that he was doing well in college and after he finished he’d pay her a visit, and even though Ryotaro could swear her mood couldn’t top up anymore, when the doorbell rang, she upped the ante. Smile reaching from ear to ear, she leapt up and charged for the door, letting out an excited squeal and presumably colliding with the Kirijo CEO.

Dojima’s assumption was confirmed when he watched Mitsuru awkwardly shuffle in with Nanako clinging to her waist, clutching a few bags and laughing. He stood, tossing the newspaper of the day to the side and carefully took some of the heavier ones out of her hands “Looks like you could use some help there.”

“Thanks, Dojima-san,” the heiress replied, now hands free and able to fully reciprocate the girl’s hug. Nanako giggled and clung tighter to her “I’m so glad you’re back, Mitsuru! It’s been ages!”

“Wow, you’ve grown another inch haven’t you? Aren’t you going to be ten soon?”

“Not yet! Will you be there though when I am?”

“I’ll be honest,” her expression turned a bit sombre, eyes flitting over to Dojima who was already making her some coffee “I could be very busy. I’ll do my best though, okay? Here, I have something for you.”

“What? But my birthday’s not til— What is it?”

“Close your eyes.”

Dojima watched as the coffee brewed, Nanako closing her eyes and Mitsuru rooting for something in one of the bags she brought. A velvety, burgundy-red cape with a hood, trimmed with creamy-white fur was carefully placed around his daughter’s shoulders and tied neatly with a large red ribbon at the front.

“This is out of season, I know, but consider this a… very early birthday present.”

Nanako opened her eyes and gasped, before erupting into another delighted smile and burying her face in the cape. She lunged at Mitsuru again; winding her a little and holding her tightly “Thank you so much! This is so nice of you. It’ll keep me really warm when winter comes again!”

The heiress coughed feebly, still pleased that Nanako enjoyed her present “Good. I thought you might like it.”

Dojima offered her the other mug, smirking a little “So, visiting Yukiko again?”

Nanako stood back, looking between her father and their visitor expectantly. Mitsuru nodded, uttering her gratitude quietly before explaining “Well… yes, but this is more of a case where I have to be introduced to the parents now. We’re hoping for the best.”

It didn’t take detective’s intuition to know that the woman was riddled with anxiety about how this would go, and he figured she was right to be worried. He sure as hell didn’t know how the Amagis were going to take the news, either that: a) their daughter’s dating a woman or b) the fact that this woman is also incredibly wealthy and runs the Kirijo Group more or less.

“I understand the concerns. If you need me to vouch for you, you’ve got my number by now.”

“I’m glad that you’re on our side, Dojima-san.” The relief on her face was unmistakeable, and it made ol’ Ryotaro feel better that he could offer some sort of support, even if he didn’t quite understand the situation fully from her point of view.

“Course I am. Besides, I don’t think Nanako would let me do anything else,” he quipped, grinning as his pouting daughter smacked his leg. “O-ow! Don’t hit your dad, Nanako. Hey, uh, regardless however the Amagis take the news, can I ask a favour of you?”

Nanako twirled away, amused by her cape, but still ever watchful of the two with primed hearing. Mitsuru smiled at the young girl, before adopting a more business-like expression as she frowned over her mug of coffee “What is it?”

“The top brass wanna outsource me to the next prefecture for an investigation in a couple of days. They say I’m gonna be pretty damn helpful since I’m one of the top detectives in the locality, not counting the Shirogane clan o’course, but they don’t think they’ll need them and they want me to get more work. So, the minimum I’ll be out there is a week, and it could take more time. Luckily though, Nanako has time off, so she doesn’t have to be in school or anything. Could you…look after her for that week?”

The heiress had a hearty drink of coffee as if she was mulling over it, looking over at the girl in question “Do you want to do that, Nanako-chan?”

“This was partly her idea as well,” Dojima interjected, smiling as Nanako skipped back over to them. She grinned up at the redhead, and Mitsuru couldn’t find it within her to refuse.

“Well, if that’s the case, sure. I might be quite busy at work too over that week, but I’ll be guaranteed home by a certain hour. Would you mind that…?”

“Nah, you keep a better timetable than Dad does.”

“N-Nanako! Well, I guess you’re right. My job dictates weird hours for me compared to your usual 9 to 5. And hey, thanks Mitsuru.”

She flashed the man a smile before finishing her coffee, setting it over by the sink “It’s really no problem. I’ll come pick you up in a few days, okay Nanako?”

“Yeah! I can’t wait! Port Island, Po-o-o-ort Island~!”

“I gotta go for now though,” she murmured, picking up a couple of her bags again “Wish me luck.”

“Y’can call me and I’ll drop by if things get ugly, alright?” Dojima reiterated, fatherly concern worrying his features. Mitsuru nodded, waving goodbye at both Dojimas before leaving for the Amagi Inn.

“I hope she’ll be okay,” Nanako said, looking up at her father with uneasiness in her little face. He patted her shoulder “I hope so too. But hey, you’ll get to see her and probably Yukiko too for the next week. So whatever happens, I think she’ll be fine. Now here, let’s put that cape away safely for autumn, hmm?”

* * *

 

“Shirogane speaking. Dojima-san? What is it? Yukiko’s… introducing Mitsuru properly to her parents? You want us to do damage control if it’s needed? …while I scarcely think that the Amagis will listen to some third years…”

Rise watched Naoto shuffle off on her phone, looking over at Kanji “Didja hear that?”

“Course I did, I ain’t freakin’ deaf.”

“ _Kanji_ ,” the idol glowered, backhanding his beefy arm “The part with Mitsuru meeting the parents? Naoto-kun looks really worried. D’you think everything’s gonna be okay?”

The looming Tatsumi pouted childishly and rubbed his arm where she had slapped him “Jeez. Y’can’t really blame Naoto for being worried. I kinda know the Amagis cos of Ma n’ the whole textile trade thing, and well, they got high hopes for Yukiko and they’re expecting her to like, marry a dude or something down the line, so I don’t think they’ll like this much.”

“Aaarrrgh, are you kidding me? Let’s call our old senpai too to help out!”

“Y’mean Yosuke, right? Chie’s still outta town and Yu’s gone home. Just leaves him.”

“Why are you so calm about this? This could be really bad for Yukiko if what you’re saying is true! Don’t you know her since you were really small? Sheesh Kanji, I thought you cared.”

“Wh-Wha? I do care! I just don’t really think s’our place to barge the hell in there and demand ‘em to accept things. I know Yukiko’s our friend, but this is something she’s gotta do by herself—well, herself n’ Mitsuru-san,” Kanji explained, folding his arms and showing his exasperation at the situation with an almighty sigh. Rise then realised that he did genuinely worry about Yukiko, and thinking on it more, he kinda had a point.

“Well, fine… If not us trying to help the Amagis understand, then we can sure as hell make sure Yukiko’s okay if they go the full 9 yards of parental rage, right?”

The young man blinked at the former TV darling, slowly nodding and smiling faintly “Yeah, we can definitely have her back for that.”

“I presume you heard my conversation with Dojima-san?” Naoto interrupted, closing her phone with a click and looking between her fellow third years with a quirked brow.

“Ahuh!” chirped Rise, flicking the brim of the detective’s hat lightly with a giggle “And we’re already making plans to catch Yukiko if she falls out with her parents over this. I’m gonna text Yosuke and let him know, so let’s go!”

“Ah, pre-empting me now, is it?” Naoto chuckled, letting the idol link their arms “We’ll just need to be careful. If Mitsuru is there, she may be in a tempestuous mood, so we’ll have to tiptoe around that.”

Kanji found Rise’s arm hooked around his too, glancing over at the two girls “Uh, yeah. Basically I should stay quiet then, right?”

“Oh Kanji, d’you really think you’re gonna set off her temper by _speaking_?” Rise began, before Naoto curtly leaned over and snipped “We’d better not risk it.”

“I think I’ll trust Naoto’s judgement on this,” he grumbled.


	11. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Considering the time this is going up the following chapter might be a liiiiiittle ironic. The names used are just drawn out of the air, they might be proved incorrect by supplemental material I don't have access to currently.

The nausea was really starting to get to Mitsuru as she waited for Yukiko to pull her in. She had been eavesdropping on their conversation, trying to steel herself for the real moment of truth, and what they were saying was making her more and more anxious.

“Mom, Dad? I… I wanna tell you guys something. It’s good news, um.”

“So that puts pregnancy out of the question I hope, right?”

She could hear Yukiko’s nervous laugh through the tiny crack between the door and its frame. “I’m not pregnant; you _really_ don’t have to worry about that, heh. I… uh, I’m—I’m seeing someone, though.”

“Oh! That’s wonderful, is he in town? Is he local?” her mother asked eagerly. Mitsuru cringed at the definitive use of male pronouns. “I sure hope he is local, but I hope it’s not Yosuke—Is it Kanji Tatsumi? Thought we had arranged something with the family…”

“N-No, mom. Kanji’s… _kinda_ already dating someone too.”

“Hm? That so? Is it that blonde boy who works in Junes with Yosuke then?” her father piped up, a rustle of a newspaper in his hands “Is that boy even local? Looks straight out of America, to me.”

“No, not Teddie either. Are you going to keep guessing or are you gonna let me show you the person I’m dating?”

“Oh! Is he here? Did you bring him here? I really hope so,” her mother chirped, clapping her hands together once. The continued male labelling was starting to make Mitsuru feel on the verge of throwing up from nerves and a horrible sinking feeling that this certainly was going to go badly. She had a message ready for Dojima on the verge of being sent, just in case.

“I—Yeah, I did bring them. You’ve met before,” Yukiko murmured, looking towards the door, bracing herself and calling out quietly “You can come in now.”

Moment of truth, the heiress thought grimly as she pushed the door open and stepped in. The shock on the faces of her parents sharply contrasted the distant smile on Yukiko’s face; the silence was so immense that the creak of a floorboard on the other side of the Inn was audible.

“Hello.”

Mr Amagi had no idea what to think, still slack-jawed as if his brain was having a hard time even connecting together the fact that his daughter was dating a woman. His wife however, radiated a similar kind of terrifying, quiet fury that their daughter manifested when confronting Chie.

“I was wondering why you were showing up here so often, and why Yukiko was vanishing off to the city too.”

“Mrs Amagi, I want you to know--”

“ **LET** me finish,” she hissed, making her antagonistic stance known “You _are_ after our Inn, aren’t you? And you just had to corrupt our daughter just for your gain. There’s no way she’d be cavorting with another woman unless you wove some kind of foreign spell on her—bribed her or whatever it is you did.”

Yukiko’s face told nothing but fear and anxiety as she glanced between her mother and her lover in a very sour staring contest. Her father looked like he was still trying to figure out what his official response on the whole thing was. Mitsuru’s expression was becoming sterner and a trace of fury flashed in her ruby red eyes, which certainly didn’t go unnoticed by her new adversary.

“I did no such thing, and I have no interest in acquiring your Inn. I’ve already told you as such a few months ago.”

“Things obviously change when you’re defiling our daughter and reputation!”

“I was involved with her even then! There is no ‘defiling’ going on and I haven’t heard anything about the Inn’s reputation being soiled—for heaven’s sake, we’re keeping it private!” Mitsuru snapped, hands balling into fists “You’re being told because it’s only fair that you know what Yukiko’s status is. I would’ve told my parents too, but they’re both deceased.”

“Oh, like they would’ve objected. They were both foreign devils anyway I bet; there couldn’t be any other way you look the way you do,” she muttered darkly, causing both Yukiko and Mr Amagi to stare at her in shock. The redhead bristled with absolute anger, fists now shaking with this barely contained rage.

“I think you’ll find that at least one of them was Japanese—enough to carry the name Kirijo down to me,” Mitsuru snarled through grit teeth “And I know my mother wouldn’t have objected: she’d be glad that I found someone I trust and love. My father would’ve been happy in his own way. I won’t have you speaking ill of my family, Mrs Amagi, because I respect you enough not to resort to insults.”

“I’m not letting my daughter degrade herself by buying your lies.”

By now Yukiko had had enough of this, standing and stepping in front of Mitsuru “Listen mom, there’s no way I could be degrading myself or whatever with this. How is being in love degrading? I didn’t expect to feel like this, but I do. Mitsuru isn’t interested in taking the Inn, you have to believe that. This has nothing to do with the Kirijo Group interests, just Mitsuru’s own personal interests, and mine.”

By now, even some of the staff were cautiously peeping in on this meeting-turned-shouting match with apprehension. Kasai, who had greeted Mitsuru on her first visit to the Inn, was the closest to the door. While she was admittedly surprised that Yukiko and Mitsuru’s relationship was an intimate sort, she certainly didn’t think it was a stain on the Amagi reputation. Far from it, if she’s involved with someone a considerable economic step up from the entire staff and ownership.

“Very well, if that’s the case, I strongly disagree with your so-called interest. You can get out of here. You’re not going to stay under this roof.”

“That’s preposterous,” Mitsuru exclaimed, stepping beside Yukiko “You’re going to jeopardise the future of the Inn over this? It’s not worth it! It’s the easiest and best choice for all parties if you simply accept what is. …Even if you decide to kick Yukiko out, she’ll only stay with me, and if you can’t find anyone to take the inn, it’ll fail. Where’s the sense in that?”

Mrs Amagi bolted upright, about to deliver some choice words when her husband cut across and dragged her away “Let’s—Let’s just stop this talk for now. Yukiko, it’d be better for your mother’s temper if you stayed away just for tonight. We’ll discuss this more in the morning.”

The man gave the two women a meagre attempt at an apologetic look as he took his wife out via another door to the backrooms. Some more shouting was heard, but nothing detailed. Yukiko sunk, visibly devastated by the confrontation with her parents (well, mostly her mother), almost to the point where her legs gave away from the tremors coursing through them. Mitsuru caught her and hugged the girl tightly, resting her head against long black hair. Soon she felt her quake entirely in her arms, and the heiress realised very quickly that Yukiko had burst into tears. The Amagi girl clung to her feebly, sobbing into her shoulder and all the redhead could do was hold her close and keep her steady even though she felt like her heart was being slowly carved into pieces.

The door behind them creaked open a little, and Kasai peeked in. Mitsuru immediately met the newcomer with a furrowed brow and a dangerous glare in her eyes, feeling like the woman would no doubt add onto Mrs Amagi’s tirade and make Yukiko feel worse. Instead, defying Mitsuru’s expectations of another confrontation, Kasai entered and meekly bowed her head “I am so sorry that this had to happen to both you and Yuki-chan. While I had my suspicions when you first stayed here, I think you’re quite an upstanding woman and… and whatever Yuki-chan decides is good for her, is good enough for me too.”

“I’m glad,” Mitsuru gruffly answered, mentally finishing in her head ‘that I don’t have to prove anything to you either’. Yukiko’s crying slowed, and she meekly looked over at Kasai who flashed back a fragile smile. The heiress did not immediately relinquish her hold on the girl “We have to go, seeing as the owners don’t even want to see their own daughter for such a _frivolous_ reason.”

“Please, Kirijo-san, give them time. I am sure they will both come around to it eventually. They love Yukiko too much to simply abandon her because one little thing is different from the norm.”

She didn’t immediately reply, instead looking at Yukiko as the silent girl pried herself away from the redhead’s grasp and walk towards the door with naught but a nod towards Kasai. Finding some words, she looked sombrely up at the staff member “I hope for her sake, that you’re right.”

Kasai bowed her head, sighing wearily “I’m sorry I’m of no more use to either of you. Please take care, and rest well, even if it mightn’t be here.”

“Thanks,” Mitsuru mumbled as she followed Yukiko out, already pulling out her phone and calling Dojima. There was only one safe haven for the night, and she hated to intrude, but things had gone _awry_.

Outside, the self-appointed damage control team made up of the third years plus Yosuke and Teddie had assembled, trying to look like they weren’t actually loitering and futilely at that. When the doors of the Inn opened, Rise was the first to bolt to her feet shortly followed by the others, looking over with a mix of anticipation and concern as Yukiko stumbled out looking very much unlike her usual self.

“Yukiko-senpai?”

“Hey, Yukiko? Y’okay?”

“Please inform us how it went.”

“Yuki-chan! You don’t look so good.”

She glanced around the five that had gathered around her with naught but a tired and painfully saddened expression and said absolutely nothing. The violent approach of clacking heels alerted them to Mitsuru rapidly approaching them looking like a veritable storm condensed into a fiery red woman, in both looks _and_ dress.

“Whoa, holy crap Mitsuru-san.”

“Hanamura,” she snipped, glaring at him with the eye of that storm within “Not a word. The last hour was the most trying on both of us.”

There was a collective hitch of breath as they all realised too that the meeting had not gone the way the two women wanted it. No wonder Yukiko was so upset. Rise and Kanji both opened their arms suddenly at her, managing to collide in the process and sharing a little look of ‘what the hell did you do that for’ at each other before ushering Yukiko into their arms in a more synchronised manner and hugging her tightly. Naoto eventually joined after weighing her dislike of public cuddling against the situation and deciding that comforting Yukiko was far better for everyone involved. Mitsuru sighed, her fury dissipating as she heard the girl give into tears once more. Teddie winced, his look of worry a little more melodramatic looking than the others.

“…So what’s the plan?” Yosuke tentatively asked, looking at the heiress.

“I think we’ll have to ask Dojima-san if we can stay the night.”

“Right, uh, if our parents ask us about this—cos y’know how Inaba is! Small place, things spread quick—we’ll play dumb if that’ll help.”

Mitsuru looked at the young man for a while, and Yosuke was stuck for a response seeing how this really was chipping away at her, and she shook her head “That seems like a good idea, but could you show some solidarity? I think that will go much further too.”

“What if I played dumb to finding this out but showed solidarity anyway?”

She quirked a shaped brow at him, thinking he was being cheeky, but saw his earnest expression and simply shrugged as she began thumbing in Dojima’s number “Whichever you think is the best way, I suppose.”

“Solidarity!” Teddie cried out suddenly after catching the word, pumping his fist into the air “We must show Yuki-chan’s parents that no matter what, she’s still our friend! So maybe that if we can show that, they’ll come to understand that she’s still their daughter no matter what too.”

“Dude, you are far too exuberant for this time of night,” Yosuke grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the blond.

Rise and Naoto in the meanwhile disentangled themselves from the little group hug eclipsing Yukiko, leaving her to lean on Kanji and sob heartily. He didn’t seem too pleased at first, but quickly busied himself with making sure the girl using him for support was okay. The idol watched Mitsuru talk to Dojima over the phone, her face and voice matching in grimness before glancing over at Yosuke “Hey, uh, should we tell Chie what happened?”

“I’ll tell Yu that’s for definite, but y’reckon we should leave that to Yukiko?”

“Damn it Yosuke, are you too scared to just ring her up n’ tell her? The hell gives? Besides, s’not like she’ll kick you into space, you ain’t the reason she’s upset.” Kanji snapped, burly hand awkwardly attempting to rub soothing circles on Yukiko’s back “Man, just let her know, awright?”

“Jeez Kanji, I didn’t realise you felt so strongly about telling Chie stuff,” Yosuke muttered, plucking out his phone like it physically pained him to do so, and texting a brief but concise message about the Amagi Inn events to the martial artist.

A few minutes passed, and Dojima pulled up outside, calling Mitsuru and Yukiko over. By now she had stopped crying, but there were still a few tear stains on Kanji’s shirt. He’d get over it, he thought, as he helped Mitsuru get her over to the back seat of the car. The detective gave the third year a look over, and nodded quietly, smoke billowing from his cigarette.

As the car drove off, Yosuke scratched the back of his neck and dialled a taxi for all of them, praying that he wouldn’t be footed with the bill.

Meanwhile, Ryotaro Dojima drove on home, glancing up at his rear view mirror every so often at the silent couple “I called Nanako ahead of time and asked her to let you in. I’m gonna drop you home, and then drive back to the Inn and talk to them. I want to do at least one thing for you guys before I head off to the next prefecture, so you can stay at the house again tomorrow night if you need to, if that’ll make the trip back to Port Island easier on you as well.”

“Thank you, Dojima-san.”

“Eh, you can call me Ryotaro by now, surely. When I trust you enough to look after my daughter, I think we’re a little beyond honorifics.” He smiled up at the mirror, little crow feet even creasing pleasantly at the ends of his eyes. Admittedly a little taken aback by this, Mitsuru nonetheless returned the friendly look with one of immense gratitude. The rest of the journey was quiet and smooth, and Yukiko had calmed back down into her bleak silence.

The gentle knock on the door would’ve gone unnoticed by Nanako had her father not called her and woke her up. Blearily, the girl pulled herself out of bed and answered the door, only to be met with two distinctly tired and sullen faces.

“M-Mitsuru? Yukiko?” the girl ventured, starting to wake up pretty quickly once she registered that Yukiko’s eyes were very red, stepping out of the way to let them in and shutting the door behind them.

“We’re really sorry to barge in like this Nanako-chan,” Mitsuru began, looking down at Yukiko who just seemed so far from her normal self “but we need to stay somewhere for the night. Something happened, so we couldn’t stay at the Inn.”

“What did?” The young girl didn’t miss a beat. That’s probably what happens when your father is a pretty good detective; maybe it wasn’t picked up by genetics, but she was a very bright girl who did listen quite a lot. As much as Mitsuru would’ve loved to tell her, age dictated she shouldn’t, and the Kirijo woman shook her head.

“I can’t tell you right now, I’m sorry.”

“…Okay. You can take my big bro’s old room. The futon’s big enough for two,” Nanako muttered, sluggishly pulling herself back up the stairs to show them to it.

“Thank you Nanako; I promise I’ll make this up to you somehow.”

“It’s okay; you already got me a present really early!” she chirped, or rather as much as she could in her half-awake state. Leaving them to it, Nanako stumbled back into her room and shortly gave into sleep.

In Yu’s old room, the heiress looked about, before locating the futon. She hesitated, actually quite unsure how to unfold it herself “…alright, let’s- let’s get ready to sleep.”

Yukiko didn’t even have to ask to guess that Mitsuru hadn’t a clue, and wordlessly set about preparing it for them. However, once it became obvious how this worked, the redhead rushed to help, and so the bed was made quickly—which was good, considering how absolutely exhausted this had left both of them. The Amagi girl pulled off most of her clothes, which caused some minor alarm in Mitsuru, who had begun to shed a few articles of clothing herself but didn’t really think till she looked over at Yukiko. Although, reviewing the knee-jerk reaction in her head, it didn’t really make sense that Yukiko would be looking for release after something like this, and it was probably more of a case that the girl felt comfortable enough to casually strip down to the minimum with her right there. That was reassuring, although a paltry comfort after what sounded like Yukiko’s mother disowning her.

Mitsuru sighed, shaking her head lightly and dismissing her uncharacteristic assumption, watching Yukiko get ready for sleep. She curled up in the futon, waiting for Mitsuru, who thanked whoever was watching her for blessing her with Aigis’ absence in such a moment, as she too took off the majority of her clothing and slipped in beside her. The heiress pulled Yukiko into her arms, kissing her cheek and murmured “Goodnight,” before falling unconscious into the world of dreams.


	12. The Times, They Are A-Changin'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all the lovely people reading this so far! Sorry the update took a while.

Dojima’s cigarette glowed; smoke framing a furrowed brow as he stared long and hard at the Amagis. The pair sat at the table, unwilling to match his intense look for the most part. At least the husband looked vaguely apologetic, his wife still a stubborn, frowning mass of a bad temper.

“I don’t see any sense in what you’re doing.”

“I don’t see why you’re sticking up for that foreign devil. I thought you advocated _local_ business?”

He rubbed his temples. This was already arduous and he was only there 10 minutes. “I do, but I also advocate fair parenting which I don’t think you’re doing.”

“You’re telling me how to raise my daughter?” she snapped, glaring up at him.

“No, Setsuko, because a: she’s about 19 and therefore already quite well-raised and b: you’re not respecting her decision or who she is!”

Her husband Masahiro nodded wearily, and while she sat back down in a vicious huff, he piped up “I do agree with the first point, Ryotaro. The second’s a bit… weirder to come around to.”

“Before you say a word,” the detective jumped in when he saw Setsuko’s mouth opening “Let me just say that I don’t see any difference between this and say, Yukiko dating my nephew. I’m pretty sure you know what happened when Mrs Tatsumi and Kanji had a talk about his own preferences, and y’see how she doesn’t care what he likes as long as he keeps the family legacy in mind as well? I think you need to take a leaf outta her book and just accept this is how it’s gonna be.” A hearty drag of his cigarette later, Dojima folded his arms and quirked a brow, awaiting another challenge.

To even his own surprise, Setsuko gave none, simply sighing so heavily that her shoulders dragged down “Fine. Fine. I’ll tell her I’ll tolerate this for the time being.”

“You’ll have to wait, they’re gonna head back to Port Island. Maybe that’s for the better though.”

“Why’s that?”

“Cooler tempers in both parties, of course,” Dojima smirked, extinguishing his cigarette in the tray they thoughtfully laid out for him. The smirk only broadened when she grumbled and folded her arms extra tight. “And I’ve had the pleasure to talk to Mitsuru Kirijo a few times myself. I think she’s a wonderful young woman; she’s been such a great friend to Nanako and-- heh, pretty much spoils her. She’s a good person, and her n’ Yukiko really do jus’ fit together. Give her a chance.”

“We’ll call her and let her know about it in time, then. Thanks Ryotaro-san.”

“Ah, ushering me out already? That’s alright. Just make sure to follow up on that, okay? Or I’ll come knockin’ again.” He meant it as a light joke, and certainly it was understood as such, but it appeared that Mrs Amagi once again took offence. Dojima threw his coat over his shoulder and ambled back out to his car, remembering only all too well that her moods calmed as quickly as they stirred. She’d get over it.

He just felt sorry for Masahiro, an old acquaintance of his. Going from reckless youth to quiet, hen-pecked husband was an unfortunate fate, but Dojima always thought he enjoyed being bossed about by Setsuko. Whatever worked for him, he thought, hopping into the driver’s seat.

* * *

“That film was great!”

“You enjoyed it, Nanako-chan?”

The girl, with her hair down but held back by a hairband mimicking the young woman beside her, nodded rapidly and swung Yukiko’s hand to and fro with a bright smile. The sun too seemed in tune with Nanako’s beaming mood as it shone pleasantly down on Tatsumi Port Island Station outside of the cinema. “Yeah! I loved it—Did you not like it?”

“Oh… I liked it. I thought the settings were beautiful. The story was a little… too close to home though.” Certainly the plot paralleled a little too much on the parental disapproval of their child’s significant other spectrum of things, amid the visual spectacle, and even though Yukiko was slowly pulling herself out of that upset mire of negative feelings, it still stung.

At least now she was willing to talk, which relieved Mitsuru to some degree, considering she had been incredibly concerned that the Amagi girl might’ve lost her voice from shock. Nonsense, she should know enough biology to know that’s ridiculous. But perhaps her feelings made her a little irrational over Yukiko; such was the heiress’ concern. That idling thought turned theory did ramble but it made Yukiko feel a little better, and even fonder of Mitsuru than she already was. It was probably unfair, however, that she was still sort of taking it out on her and even Nanako to some extent too. “I’m sorry Nanako; I haven’t quite been myself lately.”

“I noticed! Is Mitsuru not making you happy?”

“What?!” Yukiko suddenly exclaimed “N-No, she’s the one holding me **together** at this rate… She’s just as worried as I am about some... stuff.”

“Things will get better,” the girl suddenly stated, patting Yukiko’s arm. Fittingly, the black-haired young woman was taken aback by the alarmingly mature look on Nanako’s face. Seems like she really learned a lot from Yu. She had a point, though. “…Yeah, you’re right. C’mon, let’s go get some takoyaki from the Strip Mall.”

“Yay!”

Along the way on the train, Nanako had noticed the name ‘Tatsumi’ as part of the Port Island name, and had asked Yukiko if Kanji’s family had any relation to it. As far as she could recall, no there really weren’t any links besides the name between the island and his family, but it was an interesting thing that she might have to ask Kanji about later on, even if no one pointed it out the first time they were going there.

A trip to the takoyaki stall on Iwatodai’s Strip Mall later and the two Inaba natives found themselves strangely enamoured by the odd sign. “Ah, can I help you miss?” the seller asked, all smiles and already midway preparing some more food.“Is that your daughter there? She’s very cute~!”

D-Daughter? Do I look that old? Yukiko wrinkled her nose, glancing at Nanako who looked up at her just as bewilderedly. Just then, a voice called out to them, one they both knew very well and looked up towards in anticipation. There was Mitsuru, smiling as she pocketed the phone in her handbag as she paced over to the two. A hug for Nanako, a kiss on the cheek for Yukiko.

“Have a good time?” she murmured into the Amagi girl’s ear, squeezing her shoulder gently. “Yeah, Nanako’s really enjoying it here, but we’re peckish now, as you can see.”

“Oh? Kirijo-san, is this your family?” the seller crooned, tilting her head and smiling over at the suddenly flustered heiress.

The redhead shook her mane of hair, stuttering “N-Not quite, uh, my partner and I are looking after a friend’s daughter for the week.”

“Is that the case, hmm? Well, she’s picked the right place to eat! Here, on the house.” The woman handed over some fresh takoyaki, and Nanako reached out for it, but insistently put a fistful of yen into her hands. Eventually, the woman accepted, sighing and smiling at her “Enjoy!”

The couple thanked her, before Yukiko took Nanako’s free hand and Mitsuru started walking in a north-easterly direction “Oh? Got somewhere in mind?”

“I’ve two, actually. I’ve been meaning to show you these places too, so if you’re alright with it, I’ll start a short sightseeing tour.”

“Of course,” Yukiko answered, with Nanako chiming in with extra enthusiasm “Yeah!”

That was that, and so Mitsuru turned with a smile back onto the path she was forging. Within a few minutes and street turns, the little party happened upon the local shrine. Empty and pleasantly quiet save for a few chimes that rang out now and then, Yukiko noticed the little playground to the left of the steps, a little slower than Nanako who was already excitedly clambering onto the jungle gym.

“Hey, careful up there, okay?” she called out, warily stepping to the edge of the series of bars. She glanced over at Mitsuru who was already praying at the shrine, divided on whether to stay with Nanako or to leave a prayer of her own, when some barking disrupted what calm there was. “A dog?”

But apparently, Mitsuru knew exactly what animal barked like that, as she turned and beamed at a pure white Shiba Inu that tore up the steps and almost knocked the heiress over. The dog was so big it didn’t even look like a Shiba anymore, looking more like a powerful albino husky almost.

“Koromaru! Been a while hasn’t it?” Mitsuru laughed, cuddling the dog and managing to get to her feet—with Koromaru on his hind legs almost at her height anyway. “You’ve grown outrageously big—you must’ve been eating well for an old dog!”

Well, Koromaru wasn’t that old, really, he still had at least 10 years in him yet.

“Huh? Mitsuru-senpai?” a young man cautiously ventured, poking up his cap “Whoa! Hey, sorry for being outta the loop, but since nothing majorly bad’s happened…”

“Ah, Junpei, I should’ve guessed it was you feeding Koromaru so much,” she chuckled, helping the dog in question down onto its four paws “And really that’s my own fault for not being in contact. A… A lot of things have been happening.”

“Yeah? I only heard from Akihiko that someone tried to attack you in the streets a few months back. Whoa, who’s your friend?” Junpei strayed off, gazing at Yukiko as a tiny blush dusted his cheeks, rubbing his bearded chin “She’s real pretty.”

He didn’t even acknowledge the rapid steps that Mitsuru took towards him, until he was suddenly looking into red eyes accompanied by a dangerous smile and the distinct feeling that she was grabbing his collar very tightly “Uh—wha!?”

“That’s Yukiko Amagi, and I’ll have you know that she’s my significant other,” she murmured, trying very hard not to make it a very irritated hiss. She knew Junpei, and he was only out of the loop, but she didn’t appreciate anyone else so much as implying they’d like to court Yukiko after _all_ that trouble they had gone through at the Inn so fresh in her memory. Mitsuru let him go the second she heard him gulp and blanch, walking over to the jungle gym and helping down Nanako.

“Whoa—s-sorry Mitsuru-senpai, I didn’t know you hooked up with someone!” Junpei shakily fixed his collar “Yuka-tan said nothing about it when I talked to her last week. Neither has Fuuka, now that I think of it.”

“Strange, the only way the others might’ve heard anything about it would be mostly via word of mouth,” Mitsuru hummed and hawed, making a note that Aigis had something to do with the two girls knowing, if they did. Damn android.

Nanako blinked and looked at Junpei then Mitsuru in turn, looking up at the heiress “Who’s that?”

“That’s Junpei Iori, I was a year ahead of him back in our school days. He’s a good man, and he’s been looking after Koromaru for a few years now.”

“Oooh! Can I pet Koromaru?” Nanako asked eagerly, with the Shiba Inu starting to wag his tail like he knew he was in for a cuddling. It took a mere nod of Mitsuru’s head before she almost catapulted herself towards the dog. There was a silent, unified sigh of relief as Koromaru didn’t take the initiative and barrel into her or the poor girl probably would’ve been hurt. She giggled happily as she snuggled up to Koromaru, petting his head “You’re a good boy! …you smell kinda funny too, but dogs usually smell funny.”

Junpei almost keeled over laughing at Koromaru managing to look like he was frowning with his muzzle, receiving the brunt of his stare for that. Yukiko eventually pulled herself out of her amused reverie and drew closer to Mitsuru “Is he also in the Shadow Operatives…?”

“In a way, yes. He has Tristemegistus guiding him like Artemisia guides me,” Mitsuru began, folding her arms. “Ah, so he has a Persona too.”

“As does Koromaru,” the heiress added, grinning as she watched Yukiko’s face change comically “Yes, you heard me right. He calls on Cerberus.”

“You’ll have to pardon me if I don’t immediately believe that.”

“That’s fine, I just hope we don’t have to be put into a position where he needs to call on him,” Mitsuru chuckled, kissing the pouting Yukiko on the lips. Junpei coughed and looked away, allowing them some privacy as he pondered if Mitsuru-senpai was always like this. Maybe he’d have to ask Yukari if Mitsuru said anything odd to her during school…

“Junpei, shall we walk to the old dorm?”

“Whuh? Uh, yeah, sure! Showing the other half round your old haunts?” he asked, already turning around and walking down the stairs. Koromaru politely and quietly whined for Nanako to let him go, which she did, and he quickly followed Junpei down the steps. Mitsuru chuckled to herself, walking on ahead with Yukiko in tow as she watched Nanako run after Koromaru.

The heiress had always had this mild fear that the dorm would inexplicably vanish in some form, even though she had someone monitoring the state of the dorm so that if the worst was beginning to occur she would interfere before it either became derelict or in line for demolition. She had too many memories of the place, good and bad but she cherished both, knowing that what she had lived through on that fateful year hadn’t been a lie with the dorm standing there as proof of the period in its entirety. Mitsuru just hoped that Yukiko would get that impression simply by looking at it.

“Here we are.”

“Man! It hasn’t changed a bit. I still think the place’s being used by students, but it’s gradually being turned into a kind of apartment deal,” Junpei mused aloud, rubbing his chin idly. Koromaru thoughtfully barked too.The news that it was slowly changing its use for general accommodation instead of just for students made Mitsuru sigh with a sad smile. Things really were changing for everyone and everything.

“To think, this is where I spent a very… exciting final year of school.”

Yukiko looked over at her then at Junpei’s remarkably sombre expression, and only then did she realise the significance of this place. Konohana Sakuya stirred, almost sensing the resonance of what once was the Abyss of Time beneath the dorm, but also that of the Personae lurking within Mitsuru, Junpei and Koromaru reacting to the memories of their users. Without really thinking, she took Mitsuru’s hand and squeezed gently, smiling, nodding and somehow conveying that she knew when she hadn’t a clue of the exact details. In time, the heiress would tell her all about it, she was sure of that.

“Can we look inside?” Nanako inquired, tugging at Junpei’s jacket.

“Whoa! Uh, I dunno, even if we’re past students, I’m sure Mitsuru-senpai’s got other—”

“Let’s go in.”

“WHAT--!?” Junpei exclaimed, having expected some lecture over how it wasn’t their dorm anymore “But…”

“We’re not going to any rooms, just the lobby. I haven’t been here since we left, and I think they’ll let a short visit slide.”

Junpei blinked, doffing his cap and running his hand over feathery hair as he watched the women go inside, muttering about not expecting the redhead to be so brazen. Was this Yukiko's doing or something? He was also glad that the current tenants were all in their rooms or away from the building in general, judging from how vacant the lobby itself was.

Yukiko found herself drawn over to the table where the previous tenants had so often eaten and studied at, but also beneath it had fought countless shadows, stepped back through various scenes of their past and even fought each other over what they would do about the possibility of going back to see their lost leader. Nanako in all her innocence to Persona-based events gasped at the general interior, finding it quite vast indeed “Whoa! It’s almost bigger than the Inn’s main hall!”

“You sure about that, Nanako-chan?” Yukiko asked with a smile as she idly tapped the table she stood at. Thinking more about how much Mitsuru had to tell her of her past and how much she wanted to know made the Amagi girl realise that this had gotten far more serious than Naoto had initially speculated. It was funny, in a way. It took her this long, after letting Mitsuru do that to her, feeling the way she did about the heiress, her mother being angry about who she was with, for it to really sink in that this was far beyond a simple confused fling like her mother wanted to shape it as. That’s what I should tell her when we go back to Inaba, Yukiko thought with renewed determination; I’m going to stick this to the end.

“What’re you frowning about, Yukiko?” Nanako asked, snapping her out of her very intense thought process now that she was suddenly right beside the black-haired girl.

“Wh-Nothing, it’s nothing Nanako-chan.”

“Okay then,” she nodded, skipping over to Mitsuru’s side again “Is there anything else y’wanna show us?”

“I think that’ll be all for today for active tours, but you’ll get to see my house now,” Mitsuru smiled, patting the girl’s shoulder “If you’re still full of energy, there’s lots of things you can do there.”

“Yeah, it’s probably high time we mosey on out,” Junpei added, shrugging his shoulders with his thumbs tucked in behind his belt “Ugh, I don’t wanna hear a health n’ safety lecture from one of them about Koro being here, so I’m gonna head on my way. Mitsuru-senpai, don’t be a stranger!”

He almost flinched expecting the heiress’ response, but to his relief she smiled and nodded in agreement “I’ll let you know if life gives me another interesting turn, rest assured—unless Aigis sees fit to gossip about it first.”

“Hah, is that what the ol’ girl’s doing? Don’t worry; I’ll wait for the official word first, heh! C’mon Koromaru, it’s time to go home!”


	13. lllumination of the Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a much longer time without an update than I meant it to be! I am super sorry, so for that there'll be a double update today.

The former members of SEES bid farewell to one another, with Mitsuru ushering Yukiko and an absolutely gobsmacked Nanako into the limo home as Junpei walked Koromaru back with a grin. Truthfully, the girl was excited to see Mitsuru’s home and how she lived, but the limo alone was enough to silence her into quiet awe, sitting between Mitsuru and Yukiko. All along the way she was poking at the upholstery, opening up the sliding drawers and gasping when they revealed expensive looking glasswear and bottles of champagne (though she wrinkled her nose a little at that). Even when they arrived at the vast estate she still was speechless, wide-eyed as she tried to take it all in.

“It’s like a fairytale castle…” the little girl whispered, almost tripping over her feet as her big eyes could barely view the full front façade. She spun about with sparkling eyes, hands smushed into her cheeks as if to contain her huge toothy smile “You’re like a queen!”

“Aha, I don’t know about that,” Mitsuru chuckled, gently steering Nanako towards the front door so that the poor girl wouldn’t end up face first on intricate brickwork “the only thing queenly about me is the size of some of the beds in here.” Beat. “Queen-sized, I mean.”

Yukiko suddenly 180’d from deadly serious to doubling over, clutching her side and clamping a hand over her mouth to try stifling the sudden influx of giggling that wanted to desperately escape her mouth. Mitsuru looked at her in a state of total bewilderment, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side like a confused pup might. The joke she was attempting wasn’t even that funny. Nanako was even momentarily distracted by the outburst, finding herself chuckling a teeny bit mostly by virtue of Yukiko’s laugh being oddly infectious, until she saw the interior hall of the Kirijo estate.

“Are…Are you sure you’re not a queen? This place is _ginormous_!”

“I’d have a little crown if I was,” Mitsuru replied with a smile, nodding at the maids who bowed their heads to her and her guests. _Though I have neither need nor want of one_ , she mused, noting that she may as well be a capitalist edition of a monarch as it is. She paused in her thoughts, looking over at one of her staff “The luggage I sent on ahead from Inaba—that’s been ordered and put into the rooms as I requested, right?”

“Of course,” the elder, middle-aged looking maid answered, bowing her head again “I can guide them to their rooms if you wish too.”

“Certainly, I have to speak to the chef about dinner tonight too.”

“As you wish,” she replied, beckoning Yukiko and Nanako to follow her with a delicate wave.

A tiring trek up a wide foyer of stairs later, the maid kept a constant pace despite her age to the point where the two Inaba locals were struggling to keep up. Thankfully though, she stopped in front of an intricately decorated door sooner than they both wearily assumed she would, tapped it once and looked over at Nanako “This will be your room, Miss Dojima.”

Opening it up to a spacious room though decorated quite plainly for what the rest of the halls looked like, the woman gently ushered the speechless girl in “There is a means to call upon the staff for assistance, but please only do so if you definitely require something. I beseech you not to play tricks on us.”

“I won’t,” she murmured back, wandering about with her eyes taking in every single filigreed detail of the room, adjusting slowly to the vast depth as she plonked herself on the bed.

“Nanako-chan’s a good girl; she’d never do anything like that,” Yukiko huffed, a little annoyed by the mere thought of this matronly sort accusing Nanako of being a delinquent in any form.

“I’m merely making sure.”

“And I’m telling you the truth.”

“Very good, Miss Amagi,” the maid nodded once, leading Yukiko out this time and walking all the way over to a door that she recognised as the master bedroom. Her guide huffed slightly, in the way one would before making an attempt to pluck out a subject to discuss, before opening it up “You will be staying in the master bedroom with Miss Kirijo. It’s what she insisted on. That’s quite alright with you I assume, yes?”

“Absolutely,” Yukiko answered, stepping in. She shortly realised she was craning her head to try and hear for the whirring of gears, but Aigis wasn’t here to mess around with Mitsuru’s guests. In any case, there was something bugging the girl, and with a toss of black hair she turned to face the maid “Uh, miss? If I might, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“…You’re not from Japan are you?” The accent was faint, but it was there and definitely foreign to Yukiko’s ears, combined with a suspiciously Western appearance hidden behind wrinkles, and a tint of light ash blonde hidden behind the grey. With a mighty sigh that sagged her figure and made her look far more fragile than she was, the maid nodded, smiling weakly “No. My name is Constance, and I came over here with Mitsuru’s mother after she married Takeharu. I was originally part of her family’s staff back in France, but now I eventually became the head of staff here.”

“I see,” she replied, with a polite tone and look on her face. Yukiko’s attention drifted once again, before sharply returning to the maid when her name was called “Huh?”

“She’s very fond of you,” Constance said, her expression still that of a sad little smile “I’ve not seen her in such genuine high spirits as long as I can really remember. It’s like her soul was… illuminated.” The maid waved her hand around, frowning and gesturing vaguely, attempting to illustrate her point as if the very word didn’t quite carry across the weight of what she was trying to say. The Amagi girl unexpectedly smiled, and Konohana Sakuya suddenly, chirpily, took that ‘illumination of Mitsuru’s soul’ comment to heart. With a sigh Constance moved on quickly, unable to capture her feelings on the situation itself “Are you two, you know, serious? Even if Mitsuru hasn’t been the savviest in this field, as most of the staff have noticed over the years, she certainly needs it more than company stress and whatever else is on her plate.”

To be honest, Yukiko was not expecting the senior staff head to be so forthright about Mitsuru, but she was simply glad that she had an answer for her even if she didn’t know this was to be asked of her. The Amagi girl nodded firmly, glancing downwards as she felt gently encouraged by the curiously blossoming warmth of Konohana Sakuya.

“Yes. I’ve every intention to stay with her. All I have to do is resolve something with my parents, but that’ll be taken care of soon. Once I do… I’ll be ready.”

The tired French head of staff, who normally wore an enigmatic, stoic mask now actually looked considerably elated for her usual stiff expression, taking both of Yukiko’s hands slowly and shaking them with the utmost of gratitude “Yours is the kindest of souls. Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me, really.” It was an odd thing to be grateful to her for, that was for sure. Maybe it really has been an issue for the staff watching their usually grim Kirijo employers? Sounds like a rare moment to see any of them so uplifted, Yukiko mused. It made her next words all the more weighty, contemplating what she was getting into. “I…”

“Hmm?” Constance hummed, looking over at her.

The girl hesitated; eyes fluttering downwards behind the black blunt fringe, but the surge of reassuring flame that Konohana Sakuya reacted with restored her courage. A determined look settled on her features, as she looked the worn down woman in the eye “I _love_ her, so… I’m gonna want to be with her, that’s how it goes. But, you know, if I make her feel that way—that’s all I really want, for her to be truly happy. So I’ll stay with her as long as I can make her that happy.”

Constance had no more words, but she had a wide, relieved smile as she bowed, murmuring thanks once again as she quietly closed the door behind her. The Amagi girl blinked. It was an unusual encounter indeed, but it only seemed to further the gravity of the situation, giving her a strange palpable sense of terror that she was, paradoxically, rather _excited_ to dive headlong into. Her future suddenly became clearer, surrounded by that shroud of immense apprehension, and that feeling lingered for some time. She noted that when even the Kirijo staff, who must have seen their fair share of woe that seems to follow the family around, have such a strong positive view of her… She’s **already** making a significant difference to not only her own life, but absolutely Mitsuru’s too _. It… it’s time to see this through all the way then, and make that difference a positive permanent one_ , she thought, with a steadying sigh for her poor, poor nerves.

Merely a few hours later, after a vast 7-course feast that lasted for those very same hours, in the heart of the Kirijo home with Mitsuru and the eternally dumbfounded Nanako, Yukiko went to sleep in the heiress’ arms. A curious sight manifested in her dreams, and vividly so.

She found herself falling, falling and _falling_ but caught by Konohana Sakuya who glowed unusually with a golden light. The Persona gently let her down at the top of a cliff, staring at a crystalline river beneath leading to a huge lake with majestic and bountiful scenery around, picturesque but for the jagged rocks immediately encircling this river’s plunge. Pink petals trailed through as it stood by the Inaba girl, awaiting her summoner’s next move. Meanwhile Yukiko pondered; if she stayed true to her path, it would be a rollercoaster ride, braving some serious obstacles, but it most certainly would be worth it in the end with infinite adventure with the Empress. At least, that’s what she discerned from the situation.

One last glance towards her Persona, emanating the bright light as always, and Yukiko smiled, squeezing its hands before taking the plunge. Her path indeed struck true, and she glided harmlessly by the ominous rocks into the river towards the lake, towards consciousness. The Amagi girl resolved even more, that when she woke, the first thing she’d do would be to make damned sure her parents know what would be happening in the near future, and to allay their extremely shallow fears should they have any.


	14. Getting the Blessings

 

A busy week full of Nanako attempting to memorise the layout of Port Island passed, and the girl was absolutely exhausted but overjoyed at the trip, endlessly entertained by all the things the vast Kirijo-built city had to offer. The theatre, the bookstore, the array of restaurants, even having a peek at Gekkoukan in passing! Her only minor problem was that Yu wasn’t able to join for the full thing, but Mitsuru made considerable effort and had privately arranged to get him over for a day at the least. The surprise and delight Nanako reacted with made it totally worth it for both parties, in any case. The Kirijo woman left them for a few hours with a map and a phone number in case of getting lost, but somehow Narukami proved he knew the city very well, and an avid pathfinder. He left with a meaningful thank you directed to the heiress, glad to see how his cousin was getting along even in his absence in Inaba.

Speaking of the country town, during the whole journey back to Inaba in the limousine, Artemisia kept murmuring to her master about something not quite sitting right about Yukiko. Mitsuru thoughtfully asked her Persona to stay quiet, but she acknowledged that there seemed to be something begging to be let free from within the Amagi girl beside her. Was it her Persona? Konohana Sakuya was apparently restless, according to Artemisia, ever since the visit to the dorm, agitated now since one particular night in the Kirijo household, seeming to… shine? Peculiar, the heiress thought, but she would have to ask later. The determination in Yukiko’s eyes seemed to reflect the urgency within, and her wish to go straight to the Inn was of course followed.

She was unusually quiet in the car, which was a touch disconcerting.

All of the preparations had been arranged. Yukiko was to talk to her parents about this situation with Mitsuru and this was going to be the only one they would have—that is, concerning whether they were going to accept it or not. Any business concerns they would have would be easily deflected, considering how this was completely bottom of the list of their own focus in the relationship. When pressed on how she felt about it, the Amagi girl airily replied that she was confident, but had no details why.

The purpose with which Yukiko Amagi got out of the limousine and strode into the doors of the Inn somewhat frightened and excited Mitsuru for reasons she wasn’t quite sure why, but Artemisia _thoughtfully_ told her the reason for this was about to be explained. The Persona insisted on her remaining calm, and the wait would be worthwhile. So this manifestation reckoned, at least, judging from it perceiving an unusual bright light surrounding its counterpart within Yukiko.

“Mom, Dad.”

Setsuko and Masahiro Amagi blinked, looking over and seeing a very quiet Yukiko approaching the desk. Even her temperamental, stubborn mother faltered a little with the steely resolve in the girl’s eyes, fixed most firmly on hers “Ah… yeah, that, let’s go to that backroom again, hmm?”

Silent shuffling ensued as uneasy inn staff watched them go by, the tension in the air to the point where you could almost taste it, Kasai out of all of them staring as she quietly prayed for peaceful resolution. The four were seated around the same table that they were only a week or so ago shouting back and forth at each other. Now though, it seemed that the tide had turned, and it was on Yukiko’s side.

“I know you weren’t too pleased when I first told you about my relationship with Mitsuru,” she began, eyeing her mother when the woman winced with how blatant Yukiko was stating it “but you’ve _really_ got to understand that this isn’t just a whimsical fling. It’s not that, it’s not some kind of fetishist fancy either.”

The girl took a breath, looking over at Mitsuru, and her face lost all of that coiled yet even fury in one fleeting moment, lingering in her gaze as her words moved on “I love Mitsuru Kirijo, and she loves me. This isn’t about companies or anything.”

The heiress smiled brightly, quietly taking Yukiko’s hand, now completely unafraid of the reaction of her parents. Warm grey eyes twinkled in Mitsuru’s direction, before focusing with that steely edge on the Amagis once more “If you’re worried about the Inn, I’ll still take over it, and the Kirijo Group will stay away from it. You can get that in writing, if you want.”

Mitsuru sighed, her mind sternly observing how it really was unfair that they were more concerned over their inn than their daughter’s happiness, reacting so negatively when such issues really were separate from their relationship. There was another heavy shroud of silence that descended upon the meeting, save for the Kirijo woman taking Yukiko’s hand in both of hers and squeezing it encouragingly. Eventually, Setsuko, unwilling to really fight, spoke up “Ryotaro Dojima visited us not long after you left, and after what he said… Yuki-chan, dear, you’re old enough to know what you want. You can make your own decisions, and if you really and truly want this, then that’s alright by us.”

Finally, a tiny chip in her stern armour showed, by means of a tiny, hopeful smile “Thanks mom.”

Setsuko looked at her husband, who nodded and anxiously clasped and unclasped his hands “We’d just really like to know though… are you _sure_ you two know what you’re in for?”

Mitsuru was about to speak up, but Artemisia told her to remain silent. _Yukiko needed to answer this_ , she said in that voice—sharp like stalactites and as echoed as the cave they lay in. Dutifully, the heiress did, watching her girlfriend curiously. Yukiko herself was deep in thought, but with a peculiarly wide-eyed frown. Artemisia made a sound of delight, reminding Mitsuru to be quiet and to watch.

“Dad? Mom too-- I think, if it comes to it, I think I can really see myself staying with Mitsuru for quite a while.”

 _A spark? What was that?_ Mitsuru got the distinct feeling something just happened, but something Yukiko’s parents were blissfully unaware of, yet it was something that Artemisia was all too aware of. Was she hoping for this? The Kirijo woman was so distracted by that odd change in atmosphere she missed some of Yukiko’s words.

“Months, years… Even if people say things about us, they’ll eventually learn in time there’s nothing that different about it. And I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere either.”

Another spark—except it was much more like a surge of something, and it was coming from Yukiko. Artemisia all but clapped in delight within  as her host realised what had happened. She was going to have to ask her afterwards, and thankfully that was going to be quite soon judging from the look shared by husband and wife.

“Okay Yukiko,” Masahiro eventually said, rubbing his forehead with a distant smile and the barest hint of sadness in his eyes that his little girl was most certainly an adult now “This is your choice, and we’re gonna support you the whole way through. I wish you and Mitsuru the best with your relationship.”

“Thanks Dad,” Yukiko answered, suddenly very quiet as if this spark and surge that swirled about her had taken some toll on her.

“I do too,” Setsuko piped up jokingly, but she too seemed melancholy “Make sure to come back when it’s your turn to take the Inn, okay? Running away with an obscenely rich heiress is great, but don’t forget your responsibilities. A-And… for our sakes, keep it reasonably quiet? Just in case others are less welcoming. Don’t be too public?”

“I won’t,” she murmured, nodding slightly “I won’t forget where I came from either.”

Her parents stood, looking at Mitsuru with a look that was quite purely one of ‘Don’t you dare hurt her now or so help us’, before they left. It didn’t sink in; Mitsuru had absolutely no intention of harming Yukiko, and _especially_ not after all that trouble.

After the door closed, the redhead shifted her chair over and whispered “Did something happen midway through your speech there? I could sense a change in the air around you…”

Yukiko suddenly looked up at her with a sunny smile, tugging her over into a tight embrace, one that felt somehow warmer than ever and silly as it might sound it almost glowed in a way. Artemisia was little beyond utter serenity as Mitsuru eventually managed to wrap her arms around the Amagi girl too “I’ll take that as a yes then.”

_The strength of one’s heart required to face oneself has been made manifest..._

Konohana Sakuya’s warmth had been tempered into an unyielding, determined fire by this meeting turned resolution. Yukiko’s realisation and acceptance that things could get very serious indeed, making that true leap into comprehending her responsibilities in not only life but also love, that could only be reflected by the evolution of Konohana Sakuya into the ever-burning sun, the goddess Amaterasu. So _that_ was the marked change in Yukiko, one that Artemisia had been hinting at this whole time.

Mitsuru was surprised and a little flattered that this was the change she had managed to bring about indirectly, but her thoughts had turned to a daydreaming tangent now that she had processed Yukiko all but stating outright that they would be together for _quite_ a long while. While the Kirijo woman would have to return to her home soon, at least now there were no greater concerns for them bar looking for the spare time to visit the other. And honestly, after all that turmoil less than a fortnight prior, it was time for a little rest and relaxation in each other’s company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For what happens in this chapter, I surmise it's plausible enough that, if not enough to solely be the source of a Persona evolution, it may be for such a thing to reignite that evolution, if we go with the idea that between P4 and P4A they got a little out of shape and regressed!


	15. Crouching Priestess, Hidden Juno

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the chapter name, and for the huge gap between updates!

A month passed, summer skies announcing the start of May. Yukiko worked away in the Inn, the atmosphere there different from before but at least the rest of the staff were relieved it was peaceful, and Mitsuru pined for the Amagi girl in her breaks between meetings, paperwork and company inspections. It went faster than both really expected, and Port Island soon welcomed the Inaba native to the fold once more.   
At least this time she had the foresight ahead of time and so brought the rest of her friends, livening up the journey and the first few hours in both Paulownia and Iwatodai’s Strip Mall. Yosuke dragged Yu to the arcade, and the others simply decided they wouldn’t stray off. Hey, they had phones in case anything happened—that’d curtail anyone getting too lost, right?

“Hey, Yukiko-senpai!” Rise called out as the diminished group passed by a slew of restaurants. Kanji’s stomach was almost roaring from behind his skull-emblazoned shirt and the boy’s face was that of untold hunger to a near comical degree. Teddie was even worse, with his over the top contorting in starving pangs and all but yelling about his predicament. Rise, although she was a whippet of a girl, seemed to share the sentiment “We’re… all getting kinda hungry, so… so we’re gonna go to that Wild-duck Burger place.”

Yukiko hummed, scrunching up her face a little as she attempted to discern whether she herself was actually hungry or not. Chie beside her seemed unfettered, and shrugged lightly “I ain’t too peckish.”

“…Neither am I.” Which was true, she was a bundle of nerves since getting here what with the day creeping towards the 8th of May—Mitsuru’s birthday. Yukiko had made her a little keepsake of a leather keychain with two decorative studs into it (a moon and a sun, how apt) and she was worrying from here to eternity on how well it’d even go down, and all she could quite honestly think about was how that’d go down. Her stomach was filled with butterflies so it made her a little ill thinking about food. “I’ll pass. You guys go on ahead, okay? We’ll get back to you in a few hours.”

“Few hours?” Kanji repeated, blinking his steely eyes “The hell’re you going?”

Chie couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes so hard they almost popped out, with fists planted on her hips “Duh? Kirijo Group.” She turned and grinned at Yukiko, pleased with her answer even if she already thought it was the most obvious choice in the world “Right?”

“…right,” the Amagi girl answered, flat and blank as a fresh piece of paper. Chie deflated, the lack of enthusiasm from her best friend almost draining in its void of interest.

“Well if that’s what you’re gonna do, cool! Doubt we’ll be in Wild-duck Burger for that long, but we’ll letcha know if anything changes,” Rise chirped, blissfully and wilfully ignorant to the body language, clapping her hands together “Say hello to Mitsuru-san for us!”

Yukiko felt herself boil beneath her skin without warning. _Oh come on, she wasn’t implying anything! That sentence had no such ‘weighted words’, she said ‘for us’ not ‘for me’—you’re so defensive,_ Amaterasu mentally snipped, after which Yukiko felt an odd sort of prod on her soul as if the sun goddess was reproaching her not unlike a child. Offering a weak apology for her longstanding competitiveness with Rise Kujikawa, the girl nodded mutely at Rise and took Chie’s arm, walking in the direction of only the biggest corporate array of buildings on the island.

The two country girls walked in relative silence between each other, letting the sounds of the city fill in the gap as well as the countless footfalls of the local city slickers of all ages and occupations flitting by them. Chie opted to be the first to broach any subject at all, but only when the crowds around had thinned sufficiently. “Mitsuru’s birthday’s soon, right? Like, a couple of days away?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Yukiko answered, smiling sheepishly “8th of May, 1991.”

“Huh, and you’re 8th December…1994?”

“Chie, I’m born the same year as you.”

“Ahaha! S-So you are!” the martial artist awkwardly smiled, ruffling the base of her short hair “Jeez Yukiko, you know I’m bad with dates. You were always good at numbers. So anyways, there’s Mitsuru entering the next year in her twenties--”

Her friend stared ahead, dark eyes fixed onwards with unease filtering in “I’m a little nervous.”

“Why?” Chie responded quizzically, tilting her head “Haven’t you guys… y’know. I mean, why would you be so nervous at her after that—that sorta stuff.” She cleared her throat to emphasise whatever it was she was extremely reluctant to bluntly mention. Usually Yukiko would regard that with a bewildered ‘huh?’ and a few more questions to sound out the exact context, but here she was strangely in tune with any sort of attempt at subtle hints regarding private subjects (and coughing like that made it blindingly obvious), so instead she flushed red and shrieked and swung “Chie!!”

“What, I—OW!” Chie rubbed her upper arm with a wince, squinting at Yukiko “What the hell-- when did you get such a left hook?”

The question remained unanswered, as well as the martial artist's following pondering if Akihiko taught her a punch while visiting Mitsuru before, as they came into view of the massive conglomerate’s HQ. Sweeping, steel-glass buildings caught the sunlight in an array of blinding towers. The whole damn thing was difficult to look at, a testimony to the lofty heights of power the company had achieved at home and very much abroad. Suits wandered the place, men and women alike smartly dressed and so focused looking that Chie was feeling a little intimidated too. So this was Kirijo Group? The two girls walked into the main foyer and saw the vast reception— this hall was as big as their school field alone. How…? Chie stumbled about the absurdly huge, clean and polished interior, realising Yukiko had already gone on ahead to the desk, rushing after her.

“Hello and welcome to the Kirijo Group Main Building. How can I help you?” the bespectacled brunette asked, looking far too small for her huge desk and computer station that surrounded her.

Yukiko hesitated, glancing over to see Chie shortly joining her side. “Uh, I’d like to speak with Mitsuru Kirijo.”

“Psst, hey Yukiko—doesn’t she look like that girl at Gekkoukan from that trip in second year?” Chie whispered, although deigning to keep the next part of her sentence quiet. She’s even prettier now, the martial artist thought, looking at the little name badge that said ‘Chihiro Fushimi’.

The young woman named Chihiro for her part simply raised an eyebrow “…I don’t think I can do that. She is the head of the entire company and she’s too busy for meeting two girls. I can pass on a message for you, if you’d like.”

“I—um… I don’t think you understand—“

“Miss, you’re being a touch unreasonable. Kirijo-san is extremely busy with—“

“Chihiro!” called a voice, suddenly diffusing the situation. The three looked over to see a teal-haired waif of a woman almost drift towards them. Hair braided and resting lightly over one shoulder, her fringe was very short and allowed her large sea green eyes to show more. There was an air of quiet authority around her, somehow, and the way she looked at the Inaba girls was like she was subtly reading their secrets. But… she looked so friendly.

“Yamagishi-san; is something the matter?” asked Chihiro, sounding a little worried.

The newcomer shook her head and smiled gently, clasping her hands loosely “Not at all. I’m just wondering who these girls are.”

Chie and Yukiko suddenly looked at each other when something very powerful announced itself from within Yamagishi-san. Amaterasu and Tomoe almost quaked. _What was **that**?_   This woman certainly had a Persona but—

“I’m Yukiko Amagi, and this is Chie Satonaka,” Yukiko suddenly blurted, earning herself a mildly scared stare from her best friend. The woman for a fleeting second looked like she already knew this somehow, when suddenly—

“Oh!” she exclaimed, looking at Chihiro who seemed to still be struggling with the association of the names “You’d better let Mitsuru know. She hasn’t had a good time arguing with the executives over this business trip to France. I’ll bring them to see her.”

“But—Yamagishi-san, who are they?” Chihiro asked, in a sort of pleading tone that spoke of how out of the loop she was and praying—so desperately mentally clasping her hands together praying-- that she hadn’t tripped up by being slightly strict on them.

“Very dear friends of Mitsuru, that’s who,” the woman chuckled gently “It’s no worry. If anyone asks, tell them to ask me about it, okay? I’ll see you soon, and I promise I’ll bring you tea to make up for this.”

“O-Okay. See you later Yamagishi-san.”

“You can call me Fuuka by now,” she called over to her as she began to lead Chie and Yukiko towards a row of elevators “I’m sorry about that. How are you both?”

“We’re okay, thank you for helping us.”

“Your Persona though,” Chie mumbled rather suddenly “It was like—cleaning us out.”

Fuuka looked very apologetic, ushering them into the elevator “I’m really sorry about that! Juno gets so nosy when she detects a Persona-user she doesn’t know. It’s okay though, as soon as she heard your names, she stopped. Juno won’t snoop around those with significance to her comrades, if that makes sense.” For being so intimidating only seconds ago, this frail looking woman suddenly lost all that authority as she quietly apologised for her Persona’s inquisitiveness. Tomoe still shuddered within Chie after feeling 8 pairs of eyes stare almost through her.

“S…So, Yamagishi-san, why’s Mitsuru arguing over a business trip?” Yukiko ventured meekly.

“Please, call me Fuuka! And, well…” She paused, tilting her head and looking for the entire world like some kind of earth sprite out of her usual woodland habitat. “She really loathes the idea of being half a world away from you, Yukiko-san. Especially one that’ll test her negotiation skills in all forms—I think it’s about expansion, and some of the French companies are not budging on certain agreements. So I hear.”

Chie looked over at her friend, who looked at her feet, unable to do much else bar smiling bashfully at hearing about Mitsuru’s feelings being that strong, with the threat of long distances on the horizon. The Amagi girl probably wasn’t going to get over the heiress’ intensity for another little while— “Sheesh, you two should just get married already,” Chie chuckled, putting on a fake exasperated tone and nudging Yukiko in the side softly. There was a slightly far off look in her eyes and a distant smile on her face, which didn’t go unnoticed by her fellow Inaban.

“Chie…? You’re starting to sound like Nanako, stop that.”

The elevator dinged helpfully to announce they had reached their destination, smoothly interrupting any follow up either had to that topic. Fuuka walked out first “It’s just this way.”

Open, naturally well-lit halls and offices illuminated by the sun outside flew by as Fuuka strode towards a huge set of double doors that looked so heavy Kanji could barely shift them open. Yet the soft-spoken Yamagishi edged it ajar with little effort, opening into quite possibly the most impressive office the girls had seen in their life. All those times on the news when the White House in the USA was featured, not even the President could boast such an awe-inspiring room. Chie continued to ponder just how much power Mitsuru actually had, as they walked in towards the hulking black marble desk.

“Mitsuru?” Fuuka started forth “You’ve got visitors.”

The huge chair turned, and there sat a pensive heiress. Chie and Fuuka watched as the redhead’s grim, stoic face just completely light up seeing Yukiko, and though Chie was still nursing hurt pride albeit on a much smaller scale now, it was hard to dismiss how she obviously adored and cared for Yukiko. Fuuka for her part smiled away, simply pleased to see all the stress and irritation roll off of her friend’s shoulders, like iron weights turning into water.

Mitsuru wasted no time in getting up and sweeping Yukiko into her arms, mutely holding her close before planting a lingering kiss on her lips, uttering a breathy ‘hello’ as they parted. So intense was it that the Inaba girl had to hold on to retain her balance. _Good lord_ , Amaterasu commented chattily. Even Fuuka shared the ‘get married’ mentality a little, but mostly from a ‘wow that jib was more fitting than I thought’ perspective. A minute passed in which Chie and Fuuka meekly turned away and quietly conversed between each other, realising that Mitsuru and Yukiko were so focused on each other they didn’t even realise they were in the room too.

“I heard about the business trip,” Yukiko murmured, eyes glancing downward and her forehead gently pressed against Mitsuru’s.

“As much as it is necessary for me to go,” the heiress replied, hands resting on the Amagi girl’s waist “I’m fighting them tooth and nail to let me bring you.” Going to France with Mitsuru? What an appealing idea, echoed by her Persona giddily. Yukiko had never left the country, and by comparison Mitsuru was probably extensively well-travelled. The tone wasn’t too hopeful though, and indeed Fuuka’s words most certainly rang true. The heiress’ face spoke of the frustration she was having, trying to shift the immovable board of directors to allow her to take Yukiko along. It seemed like an uphill battle.

“I don’t want to put any undue stress on you--”

“No—I—Yukiko, this is what I want to do. I’ve always wanted to take you with me on a trip overseas, and Europe is even more ideal for such a thing,” Mitsuru started, quietly adding “It’s really not that often that I get to show anyone that part of my life either.”

“I won’t lie, I’d be overjoyed to be able to go with you—honoured, in fact. But if it can’t be helped, then I can simply wait for your return,” the Amagi girl murmured in return, looking at where her fingers curled into the designer suit.

The redhead sighed, face changing when a buzzing noise made itself known from her waist and mutely took Yukiko back into a tight embrace “They want to talk some more. I’ve a feeling I’ll be here all night.” Long fingers carefully brushed locks of obsidian from Yukiko’s face, with Mitsuru leaning in to kiss her once more before reluctantly parting wholly from her “I’ll make sure that the staff will let you in later, and if needs be, the rest of the Investigation Team may stay too—if you brought them along with Chie. I promise to make up for this I swear.”

“It’s _okay_ ,” she insisted, reaching after the rather mournful looking heiress, but Mitsuru had already left.

Fuuka sighed and turned back towards her, laying a hand on her shoulder “I’m sorry that these men are being such a pain for both of you. I wish they’d just allow it already, there’s really no good reason that they’re blocking you two from going.”

“Maybe I’d be too much of a distraction,” Yukiko muttered, shoulders raised briefly before drooping with the exhale of a long sigh. She blinked and suddenly primed herself stiffly upright, looking at the teal-haired waif with pure alarm and terror “Th-They don’t know about us, r-right?!”

“Not at all, they know you only as close friends,” Fuuka shushed gently, soon wrinkling her nose “Besides, they can hardly expect her to focus for an entire month overseas alone. That’s ridiculous, I think. I really wish they’d reconsider.”

“We can only hope,” Chie interjected, stretching her arms out and shrugging as she brought them down “I doubt we can really bust in there and make ‘em change their minds.”

“That’s… that’s true, unfortunately,” Fuuka conceded, tilting her head “All we can do is wait and see. Come on, I’ll take you two somewhere nice. We’ll hear from Mitsuru soon, hopefully.” The elder of the three ushered her juniors out of the office and eventually the building in its entirety, though not without Chie stealing a glance at Chihiro once more as they left. Yukiko frowned and cursed under her breath as she realised something.

“What’s up Yukiko?”

“I… I forgot to give Mitsuru her present. It’s only small and- and I was distracted because of how sad she looked,” she replied, wringing her hands a little as she felt the item burn a hole in her pocket.

Chie pouted slightly, stuffing her hands into her pockets and turning to face her properly “Man… well you’ll be able to give her it soon enough, right? Later tonight, and stuff.” A dejected sigh answered her and she rolled her eyes a little impatiently “Come on, you’ll see her later tonight. Might mean staying awake until she gets back but, she’ll be back, y’know?”

“I _suppose_ so…”

Fuuka by now couldn’t quite stop herself from hopping in and offering her opinion on the matter, wearing a sympathetic face and even that strange force of nature that lurked within seemed to echo the feeling “There’s lots of things here you can keep yourself occupied with, at least. Here, let’s exchange numbers, I’ve got to go back to the Headquarters and finish up a few jobs. If you guys need some recommendations, I’ll give you all the info you need.” The waifish young woman flicked out her phone and looked up hopefully towards the two girls, who diligently supplied their numbers and noted hers too. “I have Port Island’s entertainment and eateries memorised from their menus to their locations, so if you’d like those as well--.”

“Is that because of your Persona too?” Chie bluntly asked, tilting her head. Fuuka gently chuckled, offering a meagre shrug “Who knows at this rate? But anyway, take care you two, and enjoy the island. I’ll let you know of any changes in advance on Mitsuru’s situation.” Chie and Yukiko bowed before they really knew what they were doing, causing the teal-haired woman to giggle merrily “Now what’s that for? Please, it’s really no problem.” The girls stood up and smiled in varying levels of enthusiasm, waving to Fuuka as they turned to leave.


	16. Lovers Sniper, No Sniping (Comments)!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brr, a hefty update for a long pause! Sorry about the vast lack of updates!

Club Escapade, Port Island.

It hadn’t changed for a couple of years since the prevention of the Fall, retaining that lurid lighting, the murky atmosphere, the bass-heavy music that resounded with your heart and made you feel like your entire insides were vibrating along with each beat. Club Escapade was still very much the go-to for a night of dancing, drinking and schmoozing. Probably more too, as the disgruntled janitor would have you know when he inspected the bathrooms after hours.

“Sorry, ‘scuse me,” she murmured, sliding between closely packed bodies towards the bar. Deft as the young woman thought she was, not quite deft enough. An accidental knock of her arm into a customer’s sent the drink flying and the bartender’s eyes a-rolling.

“ _Crap_! I’m so sorry about that,” she hurriedly shouted over the music as a vengeful female face turned to face her. “Whoa, hey before you scowl like **that** , let me buy you one to make up for it.”

Yukiko grumbled, casting a dark look at the woman to her left as she made the replacement order. Flighty thing, from what she could see her hair was light in colour and styled like it had frozen in a particularly flattering gust of wind, and possessed a certain degree of charisma judging by how others stole numerous glances at her. Before long her little concoction resembling a ‘sex on the beach’ (or whatever the bartender tried to announce what it was) was being offered to her by the woman with a pleasant, apologetic smile.

“Hey, sorry about that; I hope this’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, it’s… it’s fine,” Yukiko replied with a resigned, tipsy sigh and brooded away. The woman continued to stare at her, before a strange grin spread across her face as she wagged a finger at her “Wait a second… I _think_ I know you.”

“We’ve never met,” the Amagi girl politely and stiffly replied, sipping her drink.

“Sure about that? Well, either way, I’ve heard a lot about you!” the woman chirped, briefly looking at the bartender and ordering herself a Cosmopolitan as she reached for her phone. “Yukiko Amagi, right?”

“…How do you know my name?”

Tea coloured eyes blinked, expression still for a precious moment before she shrugged dismissively and shook her head, hand hurriedly texting away “Because your _**date** _ won’t shut up about you; that’s why.”

“Date?” Yukiko repeated a touch panicked before leaning in with a sharp stare “You know Mitsuru Kirijo?”

“Pah! I was a year behind her and we were in the same dorm. I know her pretty damn well; we’re friends, least I’d like to think we were after all that happened.” She pulled up a stool and sat beside Yukiko, thanking the bartender when her own drink arrived. Turning to face her, she offered her hand “I’m Yukari Takeba, nice to finally meet you.”

“Takeba-san, it’s nice to, er, meet you too,” Yukiko replied, shaking her hand quickly. This was an encounter both unexpected and highly peculiar, and she didn’t really want to get interrogated about her relationship with Mitsuru in such a public, gritty place by someone she wasn’t terribly sure of…

Ignoring the obvious manner in which Yukiko showed she wasn’t really in the mood to chat with anyone, Yukari went on her verbal merry way “So, what’s got you all alone in Club Escapade? Mitsuru talks like she can’t leave you alone if she had a choice, so I assume she’s super busy.”

“Yeah, she’s making preparations for an important trip to Europe,” Yukiko replied, sounding a touch dejected “Something in France, I think it was.”

“Pshh, lighten up. She’s not going anywhere without you,” she answered, rolling her eyes and scoffing mildly “Mitsuru doesn’t talk like that about someone and not fight for 'em.”

The younger woman opted not to say anything, simply drinking away the last of her glass and staring at the change of lights on the black marble counter, acknowledging that now even Yukari as well as Fuuka stated the same. Yukari took a moment to check her phone, reading the concerned reply of Fuuka asking her to look after Yukiko if it was indeed her in Club Escapade. With Yukiko’s silence continuing on, Yukari took it as an invitation, something Junpei was prone to doing “Jeez, you really must’ve made her fall head over heels so hard she’s been cartwheeling the last… year nearly. What’s the secret? Big romantic? Perfect personality? _Really_ good in bed?”

Now Yukiko had endured the barrage quite well up until the last point, where her face turned a wonderful shade of red and she baulked, eyes wide and scandalised. When she found her voice, she was a spluttering, stuttering and embarrassed ball of invaded privacy “That’s—That’s none of your business! How dare you?!”

“No denial in there,” the older woman coolly murmured to herself, drinking away “Mitsuru got lucky.”

“Mitsuru didn’t—we’ve not—only I’ve—!!” Yukiko squeaked, hands flying over her mouth as she realised with so few words she just told a fairly _big_ story. Yukari stopped, turning slowly towards her. She grinned at her with a knowing look and a tilt of her head “ _Oh_?”

The Inaba native fell into an awkward, bright red silence, staring at her glass with a vicious glower. Yukari was undaunted however, laughing and nudging her with her elbow “So, I take it she was good, right? You’re redder than Akihiko’s cape! Sure surprised me though, she never seemed like the kind to take the initiative behind closed doors.”

Obviously unheard over the loud music, Yukiko’s fingers dragged on the counter as she shut her eyes tightly, just waiting to deliver a verbal snap unless Yukari proved herself to be more than some other junior to Mitsuru.

“If you don’t have something constructive to say in the next 5 minutes, I’m going to ignore you for the rest of the night.”

Uh oh, well now the archer had to salvage the situation _somehow_. Yukari looked about and leaned in, mostly to be sure that none would hear bar the incensed Amagi girl “Hey, uh, when I say I was friends with Mitsuru, I mean like… we were in SEES. I’m actually part of the Shadow Operatives too.”

“You? _Really_?” Yukiko blurted out suddenly with the pent up aggression she wasn’t very aware she was building up. Luckily all Yukari did was laugh merrily in response.

“Yeah, I know! I don’t look like it, but I’m an expert with a bow. Champion archer here, shooting bullseyes!” She gave a friendly wink and had a sip of her glass, setting it aside “My Persona is Isis; wind affinity and Dia spells in my repertoire. Although… it’s been a while since she had some legroom. I haven’t been in the front lines for a bit. Focusing on university and then competitions, though Mitsuru kept awfully quiet about her time in Inaba. Something about you guys and jumping into TVs? Anyway, obviously nothing on a major scale that needs _me_ back in action.”

Amaterasu hummed, feeling a little relieved now that she knew exactly what that odd feeling about this woman was. Isis seemed to resonate slightly louder from within Yukari, in the manner of a polite greeting despite how their respective masters were talking to one another. Yukiko relaxed, though still irked from being teased about moments that she’d prefer to keep between herself and Mitsuru. Detecting the mild air of irritation and hostility, Yukari sighed and shook her head “Look, I’m sorry. I was only messing around. It’s been years since any good gossip’s been floating about, y’know? I don’t mean to take it out all on you, but it’s the most interesting thing that’s been happening here for some time that isn’t Shadow-related.”

A pause, mostly to allow Yukiko time to reply, passed. Yukari huffed and frowned when her invitation to speak was passed up. “Okay, geez, the most important thing really is that you’re making Mitsuru so damn happy. She never dated anyone in school, though there were plenty of rumours with Akihiko-senpai.”

“With him? But they’re so—“

“—Sibling-like, I know right?!” Yukari laughed, glad that Yukiko was engaging a bit more “I found that out a lot more first-hand since we all stayed in the same dorm. The rumours just seemed ridiculous after seeing them operate around the lobby and school daily. And in any case…”

She looked a bit more arrogant, all smirks and her pose screamed confidence “Someone _else_ tamed that mighty, wild looking boxer instead.”

“Ooh,” the Inaba girl rather unremarkably said, which instantly deflated the archer's boast, frowning as she tapped her chin “I’ll have to tell Chie before she starts getting ideas and gets her feelings hurt.”

“Chie?” Yukari scratched the back of her head and offered a sympathetic look “Akihiko thinks she’s a wonderful student, and from the tone, there’s no romantic flame in it. Uh, I don’t mean to sound insensitive I swear, she sounds like such a nice girl but—y’know.”

“Oh it’s fine, I’m only a little concerned because this is the second time she’s getting into that unrequited situation,” Yukiko replied, sighing and giving a sad smile. “We’re best friends, we’ve always had each other’s back and y’know… gotta look out for each other. We've been through a _lot_ as it is.”

“Yeah,” Yukari nodded with a knowing look, which Isis echoed with a lively reverberation that Amaterasu noticed, it speaking volumes of those times in the dorm she shared with Akihiko, Junpei, Fuuka and Mitsuru “I know exactly how you mean.”

A lull in the conversation, patchy as it was already, followed, accompanied by the lights slowly illuminating more. Yukari rolled her eyes and nudged Yukiko gently “They’re gonna start closing soon. Lemme take you back to the estate, okay? Mitsuru would kill me if I didn’t get you home safe n’ sound.”

The Inaba native nodded slowly and Yukari patted her back gently, guiding her out through the slowly dispersing drunken crowd outside “Hey, you know where your friends’re at?”

“They should be at the estate too, I think…” Yukiko murmured, frowning slightly as the alcohol began to make itself known in her system more than ever now that she was vertical. The archer took her carefully by the shoulders, helping her navigate some of the usual tripping hazards Club Escapade invariably had towards the door and out of the mall. She got them both into a taxi and before long they were delivered to the Kirijo household, with a bonus impromptu singalong to the radio until an old Risette track surfaced. At that point it was just Yukari humming along.

Yukari opened the door once the vehicle had pulled in, gesturing at the tipsy country girl to get out of the car “Alright, in you go.”

“Not coming in?”

“Nah, I got practice tomorrow, that’s why I didn’t overdo it either.”

“More mature than I thought,” Yukiko tactfully answered, her only excuse being mild inebriation. The archer rolled her eyes and shepherded her towards the door “Shut _up_ , despite my gossiping I’m actually pretty damn responsible.”

The door was slowly opened, not by Yukari, but in fact by Aigis who cheerfully nodded at the two “Hello. Yukari, I presume you are going back home, judging from what I could hear through the door.”

After a long pause in which the archer narrowed her eyes warily of the android, she mustered a fairly half-hearted reply “…Yeah, just make sure Yukiko sleeps nice n good til Mitsuru drags her workaholic ass out of the office. See you soon, okay Aigis?”

“Take care,” the android replied, gently taking Yukiko into the vast house by the wrist with a tenderness that the girl would’ve never associated with any robot before. “I was having a very engaging conversation with Naoto-san until you arrived, but it’s fine. I’ll tuck you in first before I think of resuming it.”

“Thanks Aigis,” Yukiko responded quietly, feeling the weight of her eyelids more than ever now, and only vaguely aware of her legs and feet moving her along with Aigis assisting. The Anti-Shadow weapon continued to idly talk, and only snippets ended up sticking in the tipsy Amagi’s head. Something about sharing rooms and Chie violently kicking Yosuke out of hers when he mixed them up filtered into her head faintly as the android chattered on. The mild noise in certain rooms told Yukiko that even still there were folks awake (was that yelling?) but for whatever reason Aigis picked her up and walked a _lot_ quicker to Mitsuru’s room.

With careful movements Aigis set Yukiko onto her side on the bed, following the usual ‘protocol’ in putting an inebriated person to sleep. “If you require anything, simply ring the bell. The night staff members are all neatly set up for their shift. I will return to Naoto and continue our conversation.”

“Alright, goodnight Aigis.”

“Sleep well, Yukiko-san.”


	17. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite the title, that's not quite the content of the chapter! The updates of this fic are sporadic, I do apologise, but I do hope to finish this fic soon!

“Yukiko?”

“Mmh…”

Mitsuru smiled gently, stroking scattered rivers of black silk out of Yukiko’s dozing face, allowing her time to stir. There was a palpable energy to the heiress, one barely restrained by her otherwise visibly tired frame; the very stuff kept a curious electricity crackling in her eyes like she was raring to go and tough out another hard day at work. As the Amagi girl came to, eyes adjusting to the light outside, she became more and more aware of this vibe, while being grateful no hangover lurked around the corner. “What’s gotten you all excited?”

“I won,” was the succinct response which was obviously lost on the half-conscious Yukiko.

“Won…what?”

“Guess who’s taking you to France?” And there was the bright grin spreading across the redhead’s face, responded to with disbelief at first, but shortly by joy and a tight embrace. Mitsuru laughed gently, nuzzling her face into the crook of her girlfriend’s neck “Took a long night of arguing, but they gave in at the end.”

“I’m so glad! I still can’t believe you managed to stand your ground for so long…”

“I can be as unyielding with business as I am with the matter of Shadows,” Mitsuru replied, kissing her on the forehead. “So, how’d your night go? Aigis told me you were out in Club Escapade.”

“Oh… yeah, I kinda ended up there after looking around the shops with Chie. She went back to the house not too long after saying something about Yosuke being an idiot and ruining something—and she tends to make it her business when he acts up.”

“I see,” the heiress answered with a mildly bemused look, mentally noting that particular dynamic for later to avoid potential bloodshed in future grand group arrangements.

“And then, Yukari-san happened to meet me at the bar and she spent the whole night teasing me!” Yukiko grumbled; the remarks still very much fresh in her head.

Mitsuru went a whole shade whiter and shook her mighty red mane from left to right “Y…Yukari met you there? How’d she find you?”

“I guess by chance, but she was texting someone when she introduced herself…”

“…She might’ve gotten the details from Fuuka then. Those two are good friends as well,” the Kirijo heiress replied, offering a weak smile “I’m sorry she preferred to tease you instead of real conversation.”

“Well, she sure managed to eke out enough information that we’ve—well; _you’ve_ already gotten intimate with me.” Her sentence started out at a normal volume but it soon petered out to a mumble and punctuated with a fresh blush. When Mitsuru’s face comically changed to scandalised, Yukiko hurriedly backtracked “I didn’t say anything in particular! She just… happened to guess absolutely right…”

“She was always far savvier about that sort of thing than I,” the heiress muttered, sighing shortly. “I can tell you she won’t freely divulge the info at least. Yukari doesn’t like gossiping with loose tongues.”

“So just you and Fuuka-san then, huh?”

Mitsuru drew herself up in a deathly serious pose, hand over her heart and peering at Yukiko with a solemn look “Takeba and Yamagishi swore themselves to secrecy regarding details about our lives.”

Yukiko started laughing even though she thought that was the absolute worst possible time to start laughing; imagine the Amagi girl’s surprise when Mitsuru echoed the peal of laughter too. “Really, I mean that! I couldn’t resist being a touch absurd about it, though.” She stood, but not without a quick kiss to the cheek “To backtrack concerning the France trip, I managed to twist their arm enough to bring the others along, if you so wanted. I do intend to bring a few of my friends as well, and I don’t want you to feel the slightest bit out of place.”

“I won’t feel out of place at all! I’m actually kind of excited about this now…” Yukiko slid out from the covers, wide awake, alert and pretty much raring to go on the trip as of this minute “Although I should probably tell my parents you’re stealing me away for a month.”

“Good idea. At least giving them some warning would be better than outright spiriting you away.”

“They’ll appreciate it greatly, yeah. Also… did something happen last night? Lots of noise happening when I got in the door, but Aigis said nothing to me bar that she talked to Naoto a lot.”

Mitsuru’s face scrunched up prettily, recalling something for sure despite her words to the contrary “Ah… I’m not sure, but I think there was a lot of activity in Tatsumi’s room before he got to sleep, so I heard. Let’s get you some breakfast first. A couple of the others are awake already.”

“Alright, but at least tell me what was up with Aigis and Naoto-kun!” Yukiko chuckled, prodding Mitsuru nosily.

“They seem to be getting along extremely well. Shirogane hasn’t said much to Kujikawa or Tatsumi since beginning to talk to Aigis. I don’t mean to sound belittling, but they have… markedly less intelligence than Shirogane. I feel like Aigis engages her brain far greater than they did.”

“Well, that… er, that wouldn’t be too hard.”

It was extremely difficult for Mitsuru to rein in a sudden, spontaneous laugh that appeared out of nowhere as the two walked through the door into the hall. Yukiko gave her a fleeting curious look, before her brain registered what exactly she said and started heartily guffawing along with her. It seems that her curious sense of humour was beginning to rub off on the older woman, a fact that admittedly tickled the Amagi girl pink with a strange sort of flattery.

“I see that you two are in good spirits,” the android in question greeted, flitting around the vast table at the corner of which sat Naoto, a very sleepy Chie and a decidedly ruffled looking Rise. Yukiko had a half formed question on her lips as to what exactly caused the idol to look like she was carried through a row of hedges backwards and forwards, but Mitsuru’s presence caused it to falter and fade away just as she thought of it, just for politeness’ sake as much as she'd love to press the matter. Rise for her part kept adjusting herself anxiously as if she was hyperconscious of her dishevelled bedhead appearance, only serving to encourage whatever the rest of the room was speculating on. Naoto looked like she was still deciding on what exact kind of mood that she’d be in today, and it seemed to be a choice between default Shirogane irritation or slightly bemused.

“…Rise, are you alright?” Yukiko inquired, frowning a little at how on edge the starlet seemed as well as a vague attempt to address the elephant in the room.

“Uh, yeah! Yeah I’m fine. Interesting slumber party is all.” And then the girl gave her a very practiced award-winning smile. Naoto’s snort immediately undercut her attempt at deflecting the question. Rise continued blissfully unaware, but the not-terribly-subtle hint was caught by the rest present—at least whoever did not have the surname Kirijo. Aigis conveyed enough in her peculiar smile for Mitsuru to finally grasp something odd with Rise occurred, but mercifully remained silent. Perhaps she would inquire later? Curiosity providing, of course. Yukiko suddenly elbowed her in the side, reminding the heiress exactly why they were so pleased. “Aren’t you gonna tell them what happened?”

“Oh, erm… Don’t you think it’d be more appropriate when the others are around too?”

“Touché…”

The redhead offered her a tiny grin (unexpected display of French! Where did she get that from?), before turning her attention back to the others “When everyone’s gathered, we’ve got a little announcement to make.”

Rise’s pretty little face scrunched up around her petite nose, glancing oddly over the heiress, before looking over at Yukiko with something of a cross between highly suspicious and maddeningly curious “You’re not… pregnant or something, right?”

Scandalised, flame red scorching her face from ear to ear, Yukiko shrieked “Since when did you turn into Chie?! Also, n- **no**!”

“ **I resent that comment!** ” Chie scowled, stirring most vibrantly into life with the accusation, glaring through the sleep in her eyes at the idol, who, with all the patience in the world, gently pointed the drowsy martial artist towards her best friend. Naoto and Aigis exchanged a look, but when the diminutive detective found her disgruntled expression was not shared by the highly amused android, she sighed and with an elbow propping her hand up, rested her face in her palm, pinching the bridge of her nose methodically and pausing only to see the mortified look in the Amagi girl’s face.

Rise shrugged, leaning back in the chair and putting her arms behind her head “Hey, look, with that kind of money, science and power anything’s possible, I bet. Just saying, _sheesh_. Calm down.”

Yukiko then placed her blushing face into her hands and muttered a selection of choice curses that had even Mitsuru mildly surprised and shocked. Obviously rumour mongering was unappreciated, but the idea didn’t seem all that bad, was it? The Kirijo CEO made a wise decision in shelving any sort of talk pertaining to the next generation; while she may be occasionally broody, it was safe to say she was the only one out of both the Shadow Operatives and the Investigation Team to feel that way, especially when she wasn’t exactly fazed by the odd accusation but somewhat emboldened...? It seemed to be, that the chatter of the executives, despite her unfortunately numerous attempts to block them out, had filtered in, murmuring of questions pertaining to when she might yield heirs of her own. That, and perhaps she was painfully showing the fact that she was indeed the oldest present--

“Hey, Mitsuru?”

Rudely jostled out of her thought train, she blinked over at Yukiko “H-Huh?”

“I’ll see if the others are awake, then we can let them know.”

The heiress nodded absently, when suddenly Rise started up and for all intents and purposes pretty much flew out of her seat and out by the twain yelling something along the lines of “Don’t worry about Kanji-- it’s okay, I’ll get him!!”

Weird, Yukiko thought, frowning slightly at her junior’s antics, but either way she thought little else of it and followed her up to corral the rest of the Kirijo estate’s guests for the travel announcement. As the Amagi girl ascended the many, many stairs, she could hear frantic exchanges although none too clear, which interestingly dropped in volume the closer she reached the landing. When curiosity became too great, she gave in and peered round the door to the source of the chatter.

Kanji and Rise stared back silently, the young man pulling the quilt over his bare chest with a highly scandalised squeak as the idol started up and began crossly hurrying Yukiko back out. “Wh-H-Hey! Fine… ugh.”

Dourly she continued down the hall wondering what the _fresh hell_ that was about, tapping the doors she presumed were occupied with the back of her hand, until one particular door opened midway through her knocking so rapidly she almost found herself face-first into a t-shirt clad torso.

“Careful,” Narukami murmured, catching the girl before she got unceremoniously acquainted with the floor “You could’ve broken your nose.”

“Ah, thank you, Yu-kun,” Yukiko replied, offering a sheepish smile before reacting to an odd sound “…hey, what’s—“

The silver-haired youth held up a finger in silence, and she quickly muted herself. The sound became audibly clearer, and she couldn’t stop her face from splitting into a wide grin “Is—Is that _Yosuke_?”

“Who else? I’m presuming the others are awake.”

“Yeah, Rise’s getting the other big lug up. Breakfast is waiting, okay? Drag out Yosuke if you have to. There’s some news as well.”

“Eloping?” he smiled quietly.

“ _You as well!?_ ” Yukiko huffed, already turning about to storm downstairs. “ _Ugh_ , I’m never going to hear the end of it.”


End file.
